Auxilium infirmorum

JOHN M. KELLY LIBRARY

Donated by

The Redemptorists of
the Toronto Province

from the Library Collection of
Holy Redeemer College, Windsor

University of
St. Michael's College, Toronto

LIBRARY, KinDSG'h

N£

AUXILIUM INFlftMORUM

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

THESE papers were for the most part
written some years ago, to help one who
at length crowned a painful illness of

— eight years' duration by a death precious
-in the sight of God. They are now

q- published in her memory, and at her
request, for she wished that what had
proved of use to her, might help .others
also. They make no attempt at %system
or completeness, and merely seekr<to* Illus
trate some of the phases and trials of the
times of sickness, and to encourage those
who suffer and mourn to make all things
work together for good, exercising in
fullest measure the difficult apostleship
of pain entrusted to them by our Lord.

R. E.

THE ORATORY,
BIRMINGHAM,

Feast of All Saints, 1908.
tf

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

I. AT BREAK OF DAY . . . . i

II. THE DAYS OF PILGRIMAGE . . 4

III. AT SUNSET ... . . . 8

IV. YOUR MISSION .... 14
V. THE DAYS OF COMMUNION . .18

VI. LORD JESUS, RECEIVE MY SPIRIT . 24

VII. THE LOVE OF GOD ... 29

VIII. TIME AND ETERNITY . . .35

IX. THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN . 40

X. THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD THE

LIFE OF PRAYER . . .48

XI. THOUGHTS IN CAPTIVITY . . 53

XII. DARK DAYS 57

XIII. THE WORK OF THE SICK FOR GOD 66

XIV. OUR TEMPTATIONS . . . .73
XV. THE SCOURGING AT THE PILLAR . 76

vii

Vlll

Contents

XVI.

WHY ART THOU SAD, O MY SOUL ?

PAGE

83

XVII.

GOD'S CHOICE OF ME

86

XVIII.

DIFFICULTIES AT PRAYER

89

XIX.

THE SHEPHERDS .

94

XX.

THE KINGS . . . . .

104

XXI.

THE ASSUMPTION OF OUR LADY .

112

XXII.

AFTER AN ILLNESS . .

117

XXIII.

RELIGION PURE AND UNDEFILED .

121

XXIV.

THE TOMB OF OUR LORD

126

XXV.

THE CROWNING WITH THORNS

130

XXVI.

THE APPARITION AT THE SEA OF
TIBERIAS . . . .

137

XXVII.

THE VISITS OF OUR LORD

140

XXVIII.

SUNDAY WITHOUT MASS .

144

XXIX.

ON THE BRIDGE .

148

XXX.

THE BETTER PART

149

XXXI.

A NIGHT THOUGHT

151

XXXII.

THE HOLY NAME ....

153

XXXIII.

THE SORROWS OF OUR LADY

158

XXXIV

WORDS ON PRAYER

171

XXXV.

HOLDING FAST ....

I84

XXXVI.

SOME PRAYERS ....

191

Auxilium Infirmorum

At Break of Day

WHEN the long night-watch of the first
Holy Saturday drew to its close, the holy
women, laden with sweet and carefully
prepared spices, started out to embalm
the body of our Divine Lord. It was
a work of love for which there had been
no time in the darkness of Good Friday
night, but now that the great Sabbath
day is over, they go with joy to
fulfil their task. On the way to the
holy sepulchre an obstacle, apparently
insuperable to the performance of what
they so ardently desired, came to their
minds. " Who shall roll us back the

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stone from the mouth of the tomb ? "
they ask, for they cannot roll it back
themselves, as it is very great. Generous
souls ! they had not reckoned with their
difficulties, nor summoned others to help
them ! Yet, looking, they saw the stone
rolled back in the light of the sun now
risen, and emblems of victory around on
every side, and angels from heaven to
speak words of comfort to them.

This is among the loveliest and greatest
of the Gospel scenes ; is there any light
from it for the sick and desolate at break
of day ? Let us see.

The break of day is a time of mingled
joy and sorrow to the sick ; of joy that
the long, still night is over, of sorrow or
anxiety because another day of pain and
weariness has perchance to be faced. " I
am glad the night is over," you say, " but
how shall I get through to-day?" Yet
you are quite ready to work for our Lord ;
if He calls you to it, you will not refuse.
Set forth, then, on your journey, now that
the sun has risen, laden with the spices

At Break of Day

of your pains both of mind and body,
made sweet by your good- will and gene
rosity, to anoint the Body of the Lord
Jesus — yes, to anoint the Church, which
is His Body, to enrich her and heal her
wounds, by bringing many a blessing on
her children.

Make this morning-offering to our Lord
with all the joy and generous love of the
holy women ; be not affrighted by the
great stone of your weakness, which seems
to prevent your doing anything for our
Lord. That shall surely be rolled away
in due time by His strong hand, for He
chooses weakness to confound the strong
and to put clown the mighty from their
seat. How grand a beginning you have
thus made to your day !

To-day shall indeed be an Easter Day
of victory for you, and all around shall
be seen the emblems of your victory over
nature, over self, over sin, over difficulty.
It shall be a day full of faith and hope in
God, full of trust that out of darkness He
brings light, out of weakness strength, out

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of failure victory. And your angel shall
say to you of to-day : " Fear not, you have
sought Jesus who was crucified ; He is
risen, He is not here, and you have risen
with Him, and have sought the things
that are above, and are not where self-
love wrould have laid you." If you suffer
with Him to-day, you shall reign with
Him hereafter.

II
The Days of Pilgrimage

VANITY of vanities and all is vanity, but
to love and serve God. Each clay of our
pilgrimage must then be sanctified by
prayer, by victory over self, by simple
duties done all for God. Without reli
gion, life is the veriest sham and not
worth the living ; but with its lights and
consolations, we are able to realize how
glorious it is to have been created at all,
to have been given the gift of life, and to

The Days of Pilgrimage

rest assured that a gift so precious, so
eternal, could not have been given with
out some great end in view — and that end
is God ! The pilgrimage must be a pre
lude to the eternity.

Now, to serve God is to obey God, and
our obedience must be one of love, the
obedience of children, not of slaves.
Always be true to yourself. What does
your heart desire but God ? He has
been so generous to you, yet what He
has done is but a beginning ; He has
infinitely more in store, and He wants yet
more from you, for He is a jealous God.
He wants your whole life : will you, then,
give it to Him for the furtherance of
His cause, or will you keep back a
portion for yourself ? Try to realize the
evil of wilful sin, and maintain a stout
but cheerful fight with self. Great
government of the tongue, of temper,
of thought and feeling — these are the
things that are to your peace. But they
are the work of a lifetime, not of a day.
Do not, therefore, attack them in a fevered,

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excited way, else you become like one
beating the air ; but work quietly and with
calm, and if there be failure or short
comings, as doubtless there will be, let
there be at once full and humble con
fession, a turning to God afresh, with a
contrite heart, as to a Father of mercy
who knows your frame and remembers
your weakness, but never despises one of
His little ones.

Above all, let there be no discourage
ment, no sadness, for these come straight
from the evil one and spoil the work
of God in your soul. At times our Lord
will " make as though He would go
further," and will seem to ask for much ;
do not then be troubled, but remember
that it is His way of dealing with the souls
He loves, exercising them in generosity
and in trust, for we never honour our Lord
so truly as when we trust Him to the full.
Let yourself go gladly with the stream of
grace ; do not resist its onward force, for
it carries you smoothly along to a land
where self-love is unknown, and where

The Days of Pilgrimage 7

all is seen as with the eyes of our Lord.
Ever look more to God than to yourself,
resting in the thought of God's love and
care for you, dwelling far more on His
goodness to you than on the sins you
have committed against Him. Leave the
past safely in His keeping, be glad to
part with it as He bids you do, and go on
your way rejoicing.

Be merry withal, and rejoice in the
Lord, for the Lord is nigh to them that
are clean and contrite of heart, and He
loveth the cheerful giver. Let gratitude
to God colour all your service of Him, for
a love of gratitude is a love that lasts and
grows. Let your soul bless the Lord, and
never forget all that He hath done for you.
Indeed, you could not rest your service
on any basis more true and sure than on
the knowledge and realization of what
God has done for you personally, on the
special providence He has extended to
you, screening you from dangers, enriching
you with blessings, above all by giving
you a call which is above every call — the

8 Auxilium Infirmorum

call to know and embrace the truth, to
follow its clear light and be nourished
with its strong food. Dwell much on this,
and gladly recall to mind the many solid
proofs you have that God has loved you,
has thought of you, has worked for you,
has sought for you. Thus has He drawn
you to Himself.

May all this help you in your daily
work and pain, bidding you give all to
God, bear all for God, bless all for God,
till death shall come and the days of
pilgrimage are over, and your place be
found amid the spirits of the just made
perfect in the new Jerusalem, the city of
God.

Ill

At Sunset

"WHY, O Lord, are they multiplied that
afflict me ? why am I consumed, hold
ing my peace ? Why hast Thou forgotten
me, O God, and why do I go mourning,

At Sunset

whilst my enemy afflicts me ? Why doth
the way of the wicked prosper ? why is
it well with all them that transgress and
do wickedly ? Why, O Lord, will Thou
forsake us for a long time ? I am become
burdensome to myself. Arise, why
sleepest Thou, O Lord ? arise, and cast
us not off to the end. Why turnest Thou
Thy face away, and forgettest our want
and our trouble ? O God, my God, look
upon me, for I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are scattered."

Have not questions such as these vexed
your mind, and feelings such as these
made your heart sore to-clay ? God has
seemed so far away, work for God so
devoid of sweetness, enemies so trouble
some, and you have felt alone, and on
the day's story there is written that little
word, u Why ? " Yes, on the story of
to-clay it stands out as boldly as it was
stamped on the story of the first Good
Friday, when One, who did no sin and
in whose mouth no guile was found, cried
with a loud voice : " My God, My God,

io Auxilium Infirmorum

why hast Thou forsaken Me?" Yet
through this day you have tried to keep
close to God, never doubting of His truth,
never flinching from your cross, never
wavering in your loyalty.

Your crucifix has been your help to-day,
the thought and sight of Jesus Christ and
Him crucified ; and is not the same little
word written over every crucifix that you
see written over this dark clay ? Is not
the word a why " the first to spring to our
lips as we face the untold pain and shame
of the Son of God, in whom the Father
is well-pleased ? u Why doth my Lord
weep ? Why is Thy apparel red, and
Thy garments like theirs that tread in
the winepress ?" He looked about, and
there was none to help : He sought, and
there was none to give aid. And the
servant is not above his Lord ; it is
sufficient that he be as his Lord.

What, then, have you learnt to-day ?
Has it not been a greater and warmer
devotion to the ways of God ? How
incomprehensible are His judgements

At Sunset n

and how unsearchable His ways, for
who hath known the mind of the Lord ?
His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor
our ways His ways ; for as the heavens
are exalted above the earth, so are His
ways exalted above our ways, and His
thoughts above our thoughts. Yes, we
are dealing with a God with whom " a
thousand years are as one day," and one
day as a thousand years : with a God
who is high in His strength, and of whose
greatness there is no end ; writh a God
before whom the whole world is as the
least grain of the balance, and as a drop
of the morning dew, that falleth down
upon the earth. " Oh, how desirable are
all His works, and what we can know
is but as a spark ! Who among men is
he who can know the counsels of God ?
or who can think what the will of God is ?
Peradventure thou wilt comprehend the
steps of God, and will find out the Almighty
perfectly ? He is higher than heaven, and
what wilt thou do ? He is deeper than
hell, and how wilt thou know ? The

12 Auxilium Infirmorum

measure of Him is longer than the earth
and broader than the sea."

With such a God we have to 'deal, and
are we surprised if His ways are not as
ours ? are we surprised if much around
is shrouded in mystery ? for God is
u great in counsel, and incomprehensible
in thought." Yet He is our Father and
our Friend : He is not far from every one
of us, for in Him we live, and move, and
are ; we can trust Him ; we must adore
His ways.

On those ways a sweet light is ever shed
by the story of Jesus of Nazareth, by the
pains of Jesus on Calvary, by the love of
Jesus in the Tabernacle. These are also
the ways of God : and He has exercised
you in them to-day. Thou art just, O
Lord, and Thy judgement is right ; just
and true are Thy ways, O King of ages.

A day that has taught you something of
the ways of God, and that in the teaching
has deepened your trust and love for God,
that has helped you to suppress all feel
ings of disloyalty to God, must have been

At Sunset 13

for you a day of gain, and a day too of
most genuine, hearty praise from your life
to your heavenly Father.

uGod is His own interpreter, and He
will make all plain." u All His ways are
mercy and truth."

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take !

The clouds you so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break

In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace :

Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,

Unfolding every hour,
The bud may have a bitter taste

But sweet will be the flower.

End your day with sentiments of praise
that shall be in harmony with the music
of the day. "O Lord, O Lord, how
admirable is Thy name in the whole earth !
Thy magnificence is elevated above the

14 Auxilium Infirmorum

heavens : great and wonderful are Thy
works, O Lord, God Almighty. I love
Thee, O Lord my strength. Praise the
Lord, O my soul : in my life I will praise
the Lord, I will sing to my God as long
as I shall be, for what have I in heaven ?
and besides Thee what do I desire upon
earth ? For Thee my flesh and my heart
hath fainted away. Thou art the God of
my heart, and the God that is my portion
for ever."

IV
Your Mission

A DEFINITE task has been assigned to all
of us by our Heavenly Father, and to each
one has been given a measure of power
and light to accomplish it. We have all
u to bring forth fruit," for the gifts of God,
whether few or many, whether great or
small, are to be used, and not u folded in
a napkin." Our Lord speaks of talents
which have to be paid back with interest,

Your Mission 15

and His word does not return to Him
idle. Some have five talents, some two,
some only one ; but all have to work with
what they have received, and " to whom
much has been given, from him much
shall be required."

Now these gifts and lights are to be
used not only for our own good and
salvation, but also for that of our
neighbour. We are all " our brother's
keeper " ; we live with others and in
fluence them ; we help or hinder them ;
we are all members of one large family.
To each one our Lord says : u Be ye
fishers of men." It is not only priests
who have to work thus for souls ; the
laity are equally bound to labour in this
cause, to fish in these deep and plentiful
seas. u The harvest is great : but the
labourers are few," because the sluggards
are many. You have a mission to the
world, though the world does not know
you, for you are sick : you have an apos-
tolate, a work for souls to do. Do not
doubt or forget it, but let it be your

16 Auxilium Infirmorum

daily care, as one day it shall be your
crown.

Recall to mind what you know of the
value of a soul. "It is a pearl of great
price," infinitely precious in the sight of
God, to redeem which our Lord gladly
gave all that He had. How glorious a
work, then, is it to prevent even one mortal
sin, to save even one soul ! O blessed
work ! may my life produce both the one
and the other !

And for which souls is it that you can
' fish " ? What souls depend upon you, and
look to you for help ? Answer at once :
"All souls." In every part of the world
sinners are crying for help, and your
prayers and pains for them are desired
and needed ; they will bring forth fruit
and draw from the hand of God the
graces that souls stand in need of. All
have a claim on your prayers ; to one and
all you have a mission to fulfil.

But more : many look to you also for
example, and by that means you have
a mission to fulfil, quietly, unostenta-

Your Mission 17

tiously, but most truly. And chanty
begins at home, and so does your apos-
tolate. Within the walls of your home
there are perhaps some seven or eight
gathered together, dear to you, dear to
God, with immortal souls, to save any
one of which our Lord would gladly die
afresh. You see them every day, you are
a part of their life ; you can help them in
a hundred ways, and our Lord looks to
you to do so, for there is your mission
and work, and there shall be your fruit,
your service of your King and Lord. It
is a work, moreover, so suited to your
powers ; you can exercise it, whether ill
or well, by prayer, by sweetness and kind
ness, by the force of holy suggestions and
loving promptings.

O my God, let me see the field of
missionary work open to me in its
vast extent and tremendous possibilities.
Enlighten me, O Lord, to drink in the
view, and let my heart rejoice at the
things here said to me. I have a mission
and a noble work to do ; my life shall
3

i8 Auxilium Infirmorum

be fruitful in souls dear to the Sacred
Heart. O blessed power of prayer, of
good example, of a holy life ! Be ever
mine, and let me wield you day by day
for the good of the souls so dear to me,
so precious in the eyes of my Lord and
Master.

The Days of Communion

(i) THE EVE

ONE of these great days is now at hand,
and our Lord is already preparing for His
visit to you, even as you are for His
approach. He is your Friend ; always
treat Him as such, and remember that
trust is the basis of all friendship. Now,
trust in God is often a hard exercise for
the soul, because it is with the Unseen,
and no voice is heard to tell us that our
cry has pierced the clouds. But " the just
man lives by faith," and if we do not trust
our Lord, we offend against justice and

The Days of Communion 19

against charity, for surely a He has borne
our sorrows," and so has deserved our
love, and love means trust.

Invite our Lord to your heart, and let
your 'Communion with Him be one from
which the sweet flower of trust shall grow,
and hence a warmer and a more devoted
service. Hold your crucifix before your
eyes, and see the image of One who
suffered and died for you, and who
long ago thus united Himself to you. He
then took possession of your soul, and has
been so true ever since, never cold or
unkind, never forgetful, harsh, or stern,
but always a Friend. At every step of
life He is with you, and with you He will
be for eternity, if you are as true to Him
as He is to you.

Your Communions tell you this ; they
are a pledge of immortality, and a fore
taste of unmixed bliss and peace.

How full of peace and joy your heart
must then be at the prospect of another
Communion to-morrow ! Our Lord will
come with joy to feed you, and to assure

20 Auxilium Infirmorum

you that all is well. He will say to you :
u My child, trust Me to the end." And
you will say to Him : " My Lord and God,
best of Friends, kindest of Benefactors,
bless me, and accept my heart that is
sorry for any infidelity to grace, that is
grateful for all Thy kindness, that longs
and purposes to love Thee and Thee
alone to the end."

On the first Easter Day, " Jesus met His
disciples, saying : All hail ! But they came
up and took hold of His feet and adored
Him" (Matt, xxviii. 9). This most tender
scene will be renewed in your room to
morrow. " Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Sion, behold thy King cometh to thee."
He will meet you at your bedside, and
say : u All hail ! be of good heart ; I am
Jesus, the same yesterday, to-day, and for
ever ; I am come to heal you, to refresh
you, to draw you to Myself." There
is so much contained in those two words :
" All hail ! " They speak of love and
friendship, of joy at meeting, of readiness
to do a service, And you will " take

The Days of Communion 21

hold of our Lord's feet and adore Him."
With Mary Magdalen, at the feet of our
Lord is our post, for His feet speak of
His hard work for us, of His pain on our
behalf ; and when we kneel there in
humility and in sorrow for the sins of the
world, we acknowledge Him to be Master
and Friend, and love and reparation
begin to grow. My heart, O Lord, is
ready : come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

(ii) Ax MID-DAY

How dear your room must be to you,
for the Divine Presence has been there
to-day ! It is indeed a sanctuary, and the
Presence of our Lord seems to fill its
every corner, to remind you, when you
are alone, that in very truth He never
leaves you or forgets you, for in Him you
live and move and are ! The Blessed
Sacrament gratifies our Lord's wish to
keep ever close to His sheep, and to
be all in all to them. You in turn will
always try to be near to Him, to see Him
in everything, to accept all as coming

22 Auxilium Infirmorum

through His hands and with His know
ledge, rich with a power of giving Him
glory, if only it be well and loyally used.
This principle alone makes lives noble,
pure, and fruitful, though often it be hard
to act upon.

Your faith shows you in very truth
that God u has chosen the little things
to confound the strong " — things that are
within the power and reach of all, even
of the poor, even of the sick. And on
a Communion day your courage and love
are renewed to live up to this principle,
and to embody it in your daily life.

(iii) TOWARDS EVENING

What a glorious day you have had !
In the early morning a visit from your
King and Friend, who blest you, and
rejoiced to go to you and say : " All hail !
peace be to you ; it is I, fear not." What
sweet moments those were ! What light
they throw on a long and difficult period
of life now passed by, never to come
again ! Your Communion has sealed that

The Days of Communion 23

part and labelled it for heaven, safe for
eternity, and has opened the future just
enough to show you that still you have
a work to do for God, and to tell you that
in that work you shall never be alone,
but Jesus always near to you, true to you
now as He has ever been. u Your spirit
rejoiced in God your Saviour," for you
knew yourself to be strong enough to
walk in God's law, to have a place in
God's mind, to count in God's grand
scheme of creation, to be wanted by God
for a definite work.

How many hearts are sad and broken
to-night because they cannot count a
single friend among creatures, and are
so weighed down by sin that they cannot
count God as their friend either ? Not
so with you. Your ten fingers cannot
count the hearts on earth and in heaven
that beat with love for you to-night.

<l Let not your heart be troubled, nor
let it be afraid ; all hail, My child ! " were
our Lord's words to you this morning,
and His visit has flooded your soul with

24 Auxilium Infirmorum

peace throughout the day. And in return
you gave our Lord your heart, your
life, your will. You gave Him all He
wanted, and He is content.

You are friends with Him, friends with
all friends, with no bitterness in your
heart against any one, with a real desire to
do your best for God, and to work for
Him to your latest breath ! Close, then,
your eyes to-night, feeling that on this day
much has come to help and encourage
you, and wake to-morrow resolved to
work afresh in the vineyard of the Lord.
The whole of your life was wafted to
heaven this morning by the power of the
Adorable Sacrifice and by the sweet
might of your Communion. There let
it rest in the arms of your Father who
seeth in secret.

VI
Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit

LET us try to bring before our minds the
scene on Calvary at the close of the three

Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit 25

hours. A great change has come about
since the first word from the Cross was
spoken. The darkness has frightened
many away, and they have gone home
striking their breasts, and feeling that an
awful crime has been committed, and
that "this Man hath done no evil." A
few remain because they are bound to do
so, but our Lord is practically alone at
the last, surrounded by a little flock of
friends.

The most awful consequence of sin,
namely death, has yet to be sweetened
and ennobled, as the other pains of men
have already been in the hours of the
Sacred Passion. It is time that the Eternal
Father should give His beloved Son sleep ;
and crying with a loud voice, " ' Father,
into Thy hands I commend My spirit,' He
bowed His head, and gave up the ghost."

"The sting of death is sin," but there is
no sin here, and that death is not only
precious in the sight of God, but full of
peace. It is all one with the life now
closed. u His meat has been to do the

26 Auxilium Infirmorum

will of Him who sent Him," and for that
end alone has every word been spoken,
every labour fulfilled, every sacrifice
welcomed, every pain endured.

It is appointed unto each one of us to
die, and let us be wise, and understand,
and provide for that last end. Let us
pray to God before it is dark, before that
our feet stumble on the dark mountains,
to make us know our end and what is
wanting to us, for short years are passing
away, and we are walking in a path by
which we shall not return.

Our deaths will be as our lives. If we
have lived for God, we shall have hope
and peace in the hour of death ; but the
death of the wicked is full of remorse and
of awful foreboding of the judgement, as
he finds himself fallen into the hands 'of
the living God. In a word, to die is gain,
if to live has been Christ.

On the anniversary of the death of a
friend we visit his grave and recall all
we know about him, and the memories
thus refreshed are often both bitter and

Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit 27

sweet. Had we ever been unkind to
him — oh, how glad we should feel not to
have been so ! Had we ever done him a
kindness — how glad we feel that so it
was ! And what did he do for us ? We
remember it all, and speak of it, and then
we think, How did he die ? May our end
be the same ! And every memory becomes
a link of love that binds us afresh to our
friend afar off, and raises our hearts above
the level of the world.

So let it be with our Lord. Recall all
He has done for you, and regret all you
have done against Him up till now ; and
then think : How did He die? He died
with our Lady by His side, with St. John,
His beloved disciple, standing near, with
St. Mary Magdalen at His feet ; and He
died on His Cross, and I want to die like
that.

At the last, may the Sacraments of Holy
Church be given me, that with my God I
be at peace, and can say : " Father, into
Thy hands I commend my spirit." And
I know our Lady, my Mother, will be at

28 Auxilium Infirmorum

my side, that I may die a true child of
Mary. And near to me I want another St.
John — yes, at least one friend, one whose
life I have tried to make bright, one to
whom I have tried to be kind, and who
will pray for me when I am no more. And
near to me I also want another St. Mary
Magdalen — yes, at least one sinner whom
I shall have helped by my prayers and
pains, or by my example, or in some other
way, to draw nearer to God, and who will
plead for me when I stand to give an
account of my stewardship. And I would
like to die like my Saviour, on my cross,
true to my work in life to the last, and
with arms extended — that is, loving all, and
forgiving all, at peace with all, and stripped
too of everything, with no love for the
world, and having used aright whatever
goods I had.

Such a death is possible to all, but it is
the outcome and crown of a life spent for
God and eternity, in which every day
with its labour has been consigned into
the hands of God, so that when the end

The Love of God 29

comes and the dawn of eternity shines
upon our eyes as they are closed to sights
of earth, that end is all of a piece with the
life before it, all for God, and we breathe
back our spirit with calm and peace into
the hands whence it came.

" Father, into Thy hands I commend
my spirit. Lord Jesus, receive my soul."

My Jesus, three hours didst Thou hang
in agony upon the Cross, and then didst
die for me. Let me die before I sin
again, and if I live, may I live to love
Thee and to serve Thee faithfully.

Let for me to live be Christ, that to die
may be gain ; so will it be if I know and
love no one but " Jesus Christ and Him
cruciried."

VII
The Love of God

THOUGH Almighty God is a hidden God,
and dwelleth in light inaccessible, and
though no man hath seen God at any

30 Auxilium Infirmorum

time, nevertheless He has not left Him
self without witness, and His revelation
of Himself, of His mind and purpose, is
most full and glorious, inexhaustible and
convincing, and from first to last it speaks
to us of His love for men. It proclaims
to us that there is indeed between God
and His creatures a very real tie, a close
bond, a relationship born of love and fed
by love ; it assures us that God values
men, and desires that not one of His little
ones should perish. The very hairs of
our head are all numbered, and we are
as the apple of His eyes.

Let us refresh our sense of God's love
for us, and deepen our conviction of this
fundamental fact, viewing it in the light
of the text : " A threefold cord is not
easily broken." First there is the fact
that God created and fashioned us. He
sent us into this world, in a definite place,
at a definite time, amid definite surround
ings, endowed with certain talents, and
into us He breathed an immortal soul.
This is God's first act of love— it is the

The Love of God 31

love of a Father, the first cord of the
three. It speaks to us of a thoughtful
provision for our good both here and
hereafter. It makes Him look upon us as
children, with a birthright, with a claim
on a home, with a claim on protection
and on the supply of all that may be
necessary in our own special sphere for
the accomplishment of our Father's de
sign in creating us at all.

Next there is the fact that God re
deemed us and purchased us for Himself
afresh. He so loved the world as to give
to us His only Son, who should renew the
old cord of love, and add a fresh one
to be entwined with it. Sin was abound
ing, and alienating men not only from the
service of God, but even from all know
ledge of Him ; but grace was to abound
instead, and love of an even more tender
kind was to swell the might of the old
link that had existed from eternity. Yes,
this second love of God for men is as the
love of a mother, who loves most tenderly
and enduringly the child of her sorrows.

32 Auxilium Infirmorum

" Greater love than this no man hath, that
he lay down his life for his friend."

And now, in virtue of the Passion of
our Lord, a new name has been added to
us ; no longer are we mere creatures or
even sons, but heirs, and as such, a
grander prospect is laid open to us
and larger responsibilities rest upon us.
Here, then, is the third cord in the bond
that draws God to us in love ! All we
need to work out our salvation, for we
have our own part to play in the all-
important task, must be provided. Of
ourselves we have nothing and can do
nothing ; our riches and sufficiency are
from above, and thence every best and
perfect gift shall descend, and daily does
descend, to draw us to God, to enrich our
crown for eternity, to enable us to go
about doing good and walking as children
of the light. This is our sanctification,
our Lord upholding us, encouraging us,
easing our load, explaining our difficulties,
sharing our joys and sorrows, pardoning
our falls, feeding our weakness, and

The Love of God 33

giving us foretastes of future peace and
glory.

This is the third cord. It is not the love
of a father or of a mother — it is the love
of a Brother, of a Friend. And this three
fold cord is not easily broken ! On God's
part it is never broken, but He would
make it bind us as prisoners of the Lord,
more and more closely, day by day.

But though not easily broken, it can be
broken, and how ? The love of God as a
Father is broken by want of gratitude.
How little do we realize our vast grounds
for a boundless gratitude to God ! When
all goes smoothly, we are ready to say :
Bless the Lord, O rny soul !, but when
touched no matter how slightly by the
scourge of trial, all that God has done in
creating us, in endowing us, in making us
destined for eternity, is forgotten, and
we grow sullen and impatient, and the
first cord of love is picked to pieces, and
binds no more.

And what is it that unpicks the second
cord of love? It is a want of trust. Cer-

34 Auxilium Infirmorum

tainly the whole service of our Incarnate
Lord seems summed up in trust, and
coloured by it. For it is a service that
makes demands upon us ; yes, it calls for
obedience to a yoke, for a fight with a foe
against heavy odds, for a life of self-denial
and inner martyrdom ; yes, but He has told
us so, just to win our trust ; and can it be,
that one who has loved us so as to die for
us should ever fail us, or forget us, or press
us too hard ? Yet how many, when He
" makes as though He would go further,"
draw back, and walk with Him no more,
and loosen the second cord by want of
trust !

Lastly, the third bond of love, the love
of Brother and Friend, the love of One
who shares our every joy and trial, and
is with us all days to infuse into us
every needful grace, is weakened by
want of zeal, by worldliness, which ties
the hands of our Lord, and makes us dis
pute with Him about all He asks of us,
and bids us content ourselves with views
and standards which, though perchance

Time and Eternity 35

they are not wrong in themselves, are on
a lower level than those that find favour
with a Master who never knew half-
measures, but gave His very life for His
sheep. If God has so loved us, we ought
also to love Him, and we ought also to
love one another. And love means
service, a service and obedience full of
joy and zeal.

Let us often rehearse for ourselves in
prayer and meditation this full and loving
relation in which God stands to us and
we to God. It should be the basis for
action, and for a happiness, full of peace.
Let us gladly be bound by this threefold
cord that is not easily broken, until it
binds us in eternity, where it cannot be
broken at all.

VIII
Time and Eternity

IT is the glory of our Lord's teaching and
work on earth to have united heaven

36 Auxilium Infirmorum

with the earth, time with eternity. There
is shed on all the difficulties of this vale
of tears a light from on high that explains
their meaning and soothes, if it does not
wholly take away, their sting. This life
is made one with the next, and by this
union has acquired its meaning and its
value. Why are we tempted ? why do
we suffer ? why must we deny ourselves ?
why must our service be life-long and not
merely intermittent ? This world can
never answer those questions, but eter
nity makes a clear reply, and what it says
we know full well, and ought to be
content.

We know in part now ; but behind the
veil, we shall know even as we are
known, and in the ages of eternity shall
recount what things were done in the
way, and how we knew our Lord in the
breaking of bread. That lovely verse of
St. Luke's Gospel, which recounts the
feelings of the disciples who, on the first
Easter day, met our Lord in disguise on
the road to Emmaus, sums up a part at

Time and Eternity 37

least of the joyous occupation of eternity.
How changed will then be our view of
what we have endured ! how gloriously
true and straight will then the ways of
God appear ! how we shall then rejoice
if at all we have been found worthy to
suffer something for the name of Jesus !
how grand will then appear the truth
that if we would reign with our Lord,
we must also suffer with Him !

Yes, it is useful and encouraging from
time to time thus to take our stand at the
gate of death, or on the shore of eternity,
and to say to ourselves : " What shall I
wish to have done then ? what shall I then
think of these trials and demands upon
my patience ? what fruit shall I then
have in the things of which I am now
ashamed ? Their end is death ; let me
then seek first the kingdom of God, and
all other things shall be added to me."
This is a practice that aids at all times,
but there come times to all of special
difficulty — times of dry ness and full of
a temptation not to bestir ourselves, but

38 Auxilium Infirmorum

rather to sit still until the storm be
past — times when we would almost be
glad if the relations between God and
ourselves were held in suspense awhile,
and we might be free from the yoke of
obedience to law. Is there one that has
not failed somewhat beneath its strain ?
Is there one who would not welcome
some comfort at such an hour ? Is there
a remedy and a relief ?

Yes, be still at such times, and tell
to your soul what things have been
done in the way ! Bless the Lord,
and see thou never forget what He
hath done for thee. Recall your past
history, and let your experience aid and
strengthen you. How good God has
been ! — so longsuffering, so generous and
kind. When have you wanted for any
thing ? when has His eye ceased to rest
upon you, or His arm been slow to uphold
you ? and when have you yourself been
happy and most at peace ? Are you, then,
going to stop now, and waste time, and
refuse to work, and be unwilling to do

Time and Eternity 39

a holy violence to yourself ? Think of
what things have been done in the way,
and shall be done again, and think further
of how you have known our Lord in the
breaking of bread. Yes, nothing shall
sustain you in a dark hour, nothing shall
prompt you to action more truly, than the
candid calling to mind of what our Lord
has done for you in moments of sweetest
Communion. That He has come at all is
wonderful ; that He has come so often is
more wonderful still ; and can One who
day by day will give such proof of His
love and interest, of His desire to work
with us, be anything but one deserving of
trust and obedience ? Shall His sweet
summons be disobeyed ?

Wherefore, when tempted to sloth or
to lose heart at work, and in the hour
of pain, when tempted to look back
having put your hand to the plough,
when tempted to walk no more with our
Lord for a time at any rate, let the light
of Eternity illumine the dreary things and
road of Time, and think a moment of

40 Auxilium Infirmorum

what things have been done in the way,
and of how you have known our Lord in
the breaking of bread, and then expect
the Lord, do manfully, and go on your
way rejoicing, having at least tasted and
seen that the Lord is sweet.

IX
The Agony in the Garden

IN considering the Sacred Passion of
our Lord, we must always remember that
not only was it the desire of His Sacred
Heart at the last, as being the means
ordained for paying our ransom and for
drawing all men to Himself, but that it
had ever been present to His mind and
accepted by Him as a part, the chief part,
of His work on earth, in obedience to the
will of Him who sent Him. It was no
new plan devised in the closing months
of His earthly sojourn ; no, it was as plain
to Him in the years at Nazareth as on
the night wherein He was betrayed. It

The Agony in the Garden 41

was the chalice He had to drink, the
baptism wherewith He must needs be
baptized, the obedience He had under
taken to render. This it is very much to
the purpose to insist upon, if we would
understand aright the Agony in the
Garden.

The Last Supper is over, and the greatest
gift of God to men has been bestowed ;
the apostolic company is now reduced
by one, for Judas has gone forth to his
work ; a hymn is sung, and in the gloom
of the evening our Lord and His eleven
go forth to the Garden, whither He had
so often resorted.

And at once a great change comes over
Him. Yes, the speed and greatness of
the change are much to be noted. At
the Supper He had spoken at great
length, in a tone of joy and love unspeak
able, words of comfort, nay, words of
victory. Nowhere else in the Gospel is
an address by our Lord to be found at all
to compare for length and beauty with
the three wonderful chapters recorded by

42 Auxilium Infirmorum

St. John as having been spoken at the last
Supper. But now, quite suddenly, His
face is changed, His look grows sad, and
He can hardly speak at all. The few
words spoken are broken and disjointed,
and clearly uttered with great difficulty.
A moment ago, He had been the com
fort and stay of His chosen ones : now
He looks to them to support Him. u He
began to be sorrowful and to be sad ;
He began to fear and to be heavy " !
<l My soul is sorrowful even unto death,"
He says : u Stay with Me, and watch with
Me." Are these words that fall from lips
which but a few moments ago said : u Let
not your heart be troubled, nor let it
be afraid : believe in Me : have con
fidence : I have overcome the world, and
go to prepare a place for you in My
Father's house " ?

The Apostles had never before seen
their Master like this ; they had seen
Him weary, they had seen Him shed
tears ; but now He is full of fear and
heaviness. It is a pain to walk, a pain to

The Agony in the Garden 43

speak: something is at work to bring
about a change so great and startling.
And notice that at this stage the agony
has hardly begun. Later on there shall
come over our Lord that awful new feel
ing, never felt before, of being a man
of sin, deeply encrusted with the loath
some stains of all men's deeds of dark
ness, that awful, unutterable woe of being
under the ban of the Father's displeasure,
as the vision of the sins of the world
passed before His eyes, and crushed Him
to the ground, causing the blood to flow
copiously.

But this has not begun ; yet already
our Lord is sad and heavy, and the words
fall from His lips : ^ My soul is sorrowful
even unto death ; stay here and watch
with Me : I go yonder to pray." And
falling on the ground, He prays the
simple petition : " My Father, if it be
possible, let this hour pass from Me :
Abba, Father, all things are possible to
Thee : take this chalice from Me : yet not
what I will, but what Thou wilt."

44 Auxilium Infirmorum

It is the fear of our Lord that here
must arrest our attention. He is con
fronted with a work for which, now that
the hour is come, He feels Himself un
equal, so awful was the prospect, and
so clear was it to His sacred mind. He
measured the anguish — His own and that
of His blessed Mother, who alone would
suffer with Him. Great as the sea is
the only figure that can at all describe
it ; and a fear came upon Him, more
especially as with the awful prospect
there was coupled the sense of failure
as the result. The human nature of our
Lord is to the front, and how to escape,
if escape be possible, is His thought in
this hour.

And escape was possible. We must re
member that so great was the dignity
of His human nature, hypostatically
united to the Godhead, that had He
prayed absolutely for the chalice to pass,
it would have passed, for the absolute
prayer of Christ as man was always
efficacious, and could not be denied.

The Agony in the Garden 45

And so had He prayed, " My Father, this
chalice must pass : men must be redeemed
in some other way," it would have been
so. But our Lord prayed conditionally :
" If it be possible, let it pass, but not
My will but Thine be done." And it was
not the Father's will ; but with repeated
prayer there came the dawn of power
to drink the bitter draught, and never to
look back till on the Cross He could say :
u It is finished ; Father, into Thy hands
I commend My spirit."

What, then, have we learnt here about
our Lord ? Surely this, that great as
was His desire to suffer for us, and clear
as had been the prospect of the Passion
for long, still, when the hour actually
came, His human nature recoiled. u I
cannot go on," He seemed to cry : u it is
too much. My Father, surely I have done
enough ; My hands have laboured the
thing which is good, My lips have spoken
Thy praise, My whole life is an example ;
and as to pain, I have laboured from
My youth, and have not had where to

46 Auxilium Infirmorum

lay My head. O Father ! let all this
suffice, and spare Me this punishment, or
accept a less severe penalty " ; but He
added : " Not My will but Thine be
done." And in prayer His strength
revived, and to the dregs the chalice of
pain was drunk.

Our lesson here is one that goes to the
very roots of our service to God. Our
days of pilgrimage are likened to a road
in which we have to walk, and on which
we have a certain work to do. The road
is narrow and steep, and there are pitfalls
and precipices on either side. The heat
of the day is often great, and the burden
laid upon us is apt to seem greater than
we can bear. Who has not felt this ?
We started out and perchance took our
early steps full of courage and joy, certain
of victory, though we were forewarned of
the nature of the road and of the severity
of our task. Still we would begin ; but
then our agony begins too, and we grow
heavy and sad ; there is no fruit to be
seen, and the task becomes no lighter,

The Agony in the Garden 47

and the steepness of the road is not any
less ; we are afraid we are unequal to the
vocation, and that we shall never per
severe ; and we say : " My Father, this
chalice must pass from me."

A languor steals upon us, we are dis
pirited, and our efforts have no heart ;
prayer is soon cast aside ; a temptation
with which we have perhaps wrestled
well and successfully for years, is allowed
to beat us back ; a work we have carried
on with difficulty and self-denial for long
is abandoned ; our last state threatens to
become worse than the first.

Yes, we are all very prone to be visited
by trouble such as this, and in the hour of
such visitation may the example of Jesus
in His Agony be our stay and guide. Pray
the longer, and in conformity to God's
will ; face and drink the chalice to the
end ; strength will come and victory too,
though you may never see fruit to your
pain.

All work for God and for eternity, all
work for souls, must be done beneath the

48 Auxilium Infirmorum

shadows of Mount Olivet and in the spirit
our Lord showed in His Agony there. It
will be carried out for the most part alone,
and often without sympathy or encourage
ment, but it will be blest by God and
lead us to Him. " May He support us all
the day long, till the shades lengthen, and
the evening comes, and the busy world is
hushed, and the fever of life is over, and
our work is done. Then in His mercy
may He give us a safe lodging, and a holy
rest, and peace at the last."

X

The Fatherhood of God the Life
of Prayer

THE duty of prayer is at once the easiest
and most necessary of all our spiritual
duties. By prayer we approach God at
all times ; it is the life and success of all
our work, while the Sacraments, strong
and powerful as they are, depend, in
great measure, on prayer for their effi-

The Life of Prayer 51

cacy. God loves prayer, and invites us
to pray to Him at all times ; His ears are
ever attentive to the voice of our suppli
cation, His hands ever ready to receive
the offering of our daily tasks when clone
in His name and offered to Him by the
homage of humble prayer. And yet
prayer is much neglected, and often ap
pears to be both dry and difficult. Of
course, like all work for God, prayer is
sure to be dry and difficult at times.
Prayer is an exercise, a raising and move
ment of the heart and mind ; it is not
meant to be as easy as to breathe, neither
is it meant to be difficult in any great
degree. Little children can pray, the
sick and the suffering can pray, even the
dying can pray, when they can do nothing
else. Indeed, we cannot too deeply
realize the facility of prayer, and that
therefore those who do not pray are
much to blame and without excuse.

Now to pray is to converse with God.
Make that definition your own, and take
no other. Other definitions more com-
5

48 Auxilium Infirmorum

plicated may be given and are given, but
be simple, and say that to pray is to con
verse with God, and at once we see how
intimate it becomes, and what variety is
introduced into the very idea of prayer.
Think of what a conversation with a true
friend is. Think first of what it is not.
With friends we do not talk on indifferent
subjects, we do not discuss the weather,
or talk for the sake of talking. No, none
of this ; but at once we plunge into what
is nearest and dearest to us, into common
interests; we unfold plans, and make
requests, and ask for information and
guidance ; we speak too of difficulties, yet
always in simple, unstudied words, always
to the point, always in a spirit of trust and
gladness, without strain, anxious only to
make fullest use of every moment, grieved
only when we must part. Such should
be our prayer to God.

And what is the basis and secret of
the intensity of any such conversation ?
It is the relation in which the two
parties stand to one another. Apply

The Life of Prayer 51

this to prayer. Why, for example, is
it easier to pray to a saint whom we
know, than to one of whose life we
know little or nothing? When we pray
to our Lady, what is it that makes prayer
so sweet and intimate ? Is it that being
Queen of Heaven, of angels, and of saints,
she can help us powerfully ? No ; it is
that she is our Mother. All her intimacy
with our Lord was in her capacity as His
Mother, and so it is with us. It is the
relation she bears to us, and that we
bear to her, which facilitates and deepens
our prayers to her. And when we pray
to God, what is going to help us ? Is it
that He is our Creator, our Lord and
Judge, our Alpha and Omega ? Nay,
these are points that crush us to the
ground, and make us feel our nothingness,
and bid us call on angels and saints and
even inanimate creation to praise Him,
because we cannot do so aright. Our
relation to God as His creature is too
severe and tremendous to help us much
in our prayer. Therefore, our Lord says :

52 Auxilium Infirmorum

" Thus shall thou pray : Our Father " !
Yes, our Father ! Our Father ! It is the
Fatherhood of God that forms the main
stay and vivifying principle of prayer.

Indeed, we cannot make too much of the
fact that when we pray it is to a Father,
who listens with a father's love and
interest, who gives with a father's wisdom,
who refuses and takes away with a father's
forethought and care for the welfare of
his child. There is here nothing to
frighten us, or to make us awed and
dumb : rather everything to draw us on,
to make us u natural," at home and at
our ease, everything to call forth our
thought, to direct our attention, and to
make it easy to make known our peti
tions.

Surely this thought was in the mind of
our Lord when He taught His disciples
how to pray. Begin, He seemed to say,
as children speaking to their father ;
"thus shall ye pray: Our Father," that
the Fatherhood of God be the life-giving
principle to every prayer. Thus did our

Thoughts in Captivity 53

Lord Himself pray when, being in an
agony, He prayed the longer: " My
Father, if it be possible, let this chalice
pass from Me." Thus did He pray when
He asked a boon for His enemies :
" Father, forgive them, for they know
not what they do." Thus did He pray
when near to death : " Father, into Thy
hands I commend My spirit." Let us go
and do in like manner.

XI
Thoughts in Captivity

BAD thoughts are a trouble to which every
one is subject. Some have more than
others, some have them at times only,
others seem never free from them. And
they have a tendency to discourage us,
and probably there is no temptation from
which we would so much wish to be
wholly free. Strictly speaking, they
merely rank on the same level with
every other kind of spiritual trouble,

54 Auxilium Infirmorum

but by their very nature they fasten
their tooth very firmly, and it seems the
more difficult to throw them off. They
seek to sully every virtue, but the virtue
of purity most of all. This arises from
the weakness of our nature, and because
the devil as a rule is more persistent in
his efforts against the loveliest of virtues
than any other. Yet we know that " no
price is worthy of a continent soul, and
that he that loveth cleanness of heart, for
the grace of his lips shall have the King
for his friend." And so we would guard
it with jealous care, refraining ourselves
from carnal desires which war against the
soul, for blessed are the clean of heart, for
they shall see God.

It is the wish of your heart to sanctify
your life, to obey and love God, to hate
what is wrong, to pursue what is right,
and always to keep on the safe side,
and when you are troubled by these
thoughts, you are apt to become
frightened lest you depart from the
path you have chosen. All the more is

Thoughts in Captivity 55

this the case because, being weak and
often in pain, you cannot protect yourself
as easily as others who are strong, for you
are unable to busy yourself in active work,
and so to distract your mind. Thus you
are thrown the more on yourself, and you
feel defenceless, and so are troubled.

But let not your heart be troubled, nor
let it be afraid : God is there as well as
the devil. God sees all your circumstances,
and knows the pressure of the thought,
and how much you can stand, and how
much He wants you to stand. He never
leaves you, and is pleased to see you fight.
He knows the direction of your will all
through, and bids you fight calmly.
Take aim ; look where you hit ; do not
beat the air ; call the devil a liar, and
say strongly to him : " Begone, Satan ! "
The thought may continue after this,
and may even last for hours ; never mind.
Your initial act showed the devil the
door, and the garden of your soul was
shut against him. He may, and probably
will, go on whining outside like a whipped

56 Auxilium Infirmorum

hound ; but quietly disregard him, and
rest in the thought that you rose to the
occasion instantly, and now are resting in
the thought of the nearness of God.

If you are too frightened, you are sure
to be discouraged. The devil is a bully,
and bullies go on bullying only when they
see that they give pain. If you quietly
disregard him, he will the sooner cease
from bullying you.

Every morning say one special Hail
Mary to our Lady to beg her that day
to guard you especially in this matter.
Remember it is the special virtue of all
children of Mary. Refresh your horror
of aught that can stain it by quiet
meditation on the scourging at the pillar,
one of our Lord's most awful pains. Also
let your confessions help you, by dis
closing the clangers to which the devil
subjects you, for he dislikes his tactics
being laid bare. Aim high, for we are
to be as angels. u Oh, how beautiful is
the chaste generation with glory, for the
memory thereof is immortal, because it is

Dark Days 57

known both with God and with men ; it
triumpheth crowned for ever, winning the
reward of undefiled conflicts." Thus may
every thought be brought into captivity
unto the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. x. 5).

XII
Dark Days

WHY is it that any days are hard and dark,
for surely they form no part of God's plan
for His creatures ? No, they are our own
make, a family trouble, and all have their
share of them, for they all date and spring
from the first mortal sin. Most skilfully
and lovingly has our Lord shown us
how to face them and turn them to profit,
yet they remain our own work. On a
dark day " the ropes of sin " bind us
tightly, we feel our slavery and bondage
more, and sigh more deeply for the free
dom wherewith Christ has made us free.

"The ropes of sin"! — a strong and
beautiful image from the Psalms, which

58 Auxilium Infirmorum

very accurately describes what we feel on
dark days. They are very tight, and irk
some, and painful then, and Nature bids
us resist and fight them, but Grace bids
us be a "prisoner in the Lord/' so that
the second half of the Psalmist's verse
may also be true of us : —

"The ropes of sin have drawn me tightly,
But I have not forgotten Thy law, O Lord."

Blessed, then, be any day that turns
captivity captive, and makes us more
truly prisoners of the Lord.

A dark day is a teacher that throws
light on some of the mysteries by which
we are surrounded. It lifts a veil and
lights up the problem of pain. Our
Redemption was accomplished by pain,
and men are bidden suffer with our
Lord, for the same cause and in the same
beautiful spirit, that they may become
like to Him, and u may fill up those things
that are wanting in His Passion."

This in itself is wonderful, but when we
stop to think of the amount of pain this

Dark Days 59

world has seen, we are struck dumb. Is
there no explanation ? Why does God
want so much ? We do not really know,
but let us look at the mystery with the
eyes of a loving faith that may suggest
an answer. Wrhy did God become man ?
why are gifts so stupendous as the Blessed
Sacrament given to us ? why is a place in
heaven for eternity prepared for creatures
so unworthy ? Ah ! here it is : God is
God, and all concerning Him is on a large
scale. Our souls are all-precious to God,
and are made to be with Him for ever,
and this is true of millions upon millions.
Therefore there must be an abundance of
the antidote to that which can ruin all, an
abundance of seasoning salt, and that salt
is pain, that salt is the Cross. And to that
abundance we may add a goodly handful
by a dark clay well spent for God. By so
doing, the salt that destroys the weeds of
sin and preserves virtue, will be made to
act, and, as God looks down at the close
of such a day from the starry heavens on
this vale of tears, it \vill bear a purer and

60 Auxilium Infirmorum

a nobler aspect because of your pain to
day and of the use you will make of it.

Some measure of dark days must come
to us all in this life. They come for our
good, to stir us to the very depths, lest we
forget that we are pilgrims of the night,
on the road together to a land of promise
which flows with milk and honey, and the
light of which is the brightness of the
Face of God. They are not lost or squan
dered, they are not empty days. They
bring us to our knees in humble prayer
before the Tabernacle or at the foot of the
Crucifix. They draw us more closely,
though sometimes almost violently, to our
Lord, as though He really must have us,
and make us pray and look to Him.
Through the bath of scalding oil He
drew St. John, His beloved disciple,
unscathed ; so too wrill He draw us, puri
fied and enriched, through many a dark
and scalding hour, for we too are among
the disciples whom Jesus loves.

And if to-day shall be one of great
difficulty, surely it will also be one of

Dark Days 61

victory. It must be so. Some height
will be scaled, some puzzle of how to
conquer self will be solved. This is the
whole work of life, the whole preparation
for the vision of God, the whole sancti-
fication of a soul ; but it means care, and
thought, and time. Try, then, to bear all
with patience and conformity to God's
holy will, and to gain merit to-day not
only for yourself, but for those dear to
you.

Imagine, morning by morning, as you
say your first prayers, that our Lord meets
you face to face, and that you say to Him :
" What is my portion for to-day, Lord ?"
And if He answers : " Can you drink to
day of the chalice which I drank of?"
you will reply : " I can ; I will ; Thy will
be done." Yes, just for to-day ! There is
much encouragement and wisdom in that
little phrase. Do not look too far ahead,
but just sufficient for the day !

Often on a dark day let your mind and
heart rest in the thought of heaven. Scrip
ture has revealed it so fully to us, because

62 Auxilium Infirmorum

we need its sweet prospect in this vale of
tears. All pain and sorrow have an end ;
hard and distasteful though they be, they
have a deep meaning and great value.
Day by day the amount to be faced and
endured gets less and less, while, to those
who live near to God, with humble con
formity to His will, the brightness of
heaven grows daily and solidly greater.
God is always far more generous than we
can ever be. If we give Him all now,
what will He give us both now and here
after ? First Peace, then Glory. There
fore, as St. James says, " count it all joy
when you shall fall into divers tempta
tions." Were ever words penned more
outrageous, more utterly at variance with
the wisdom of men ? Trials of all sorts shall
beset us, and yet what are we to think of
them ? " All Joy " ! This is the wisdom
of the saints, learnt step by step in the
school of Jesus crucified.

And now, with this light to cheer you,
go forward in spirit to the last hour of a
dark day well spent for God. The end

Dark Days 63

has come, u the former things are passed
away," and how glad will you be if you
did your duty in the early morning, and
made a virtue of necessity ! Where is
the sacrifice now ? Already in heaven
with God, changed into golden merit,
and more than likely it has ere now
borne fruit in some poor soul that needed
grace, and will bear yet more. You are
the richer and the happier for the sacrifice
of the morning. You have " resisted the
devil, strong in faith."

And now, as the curtain of night is
drawn around you, your soul is full of a
beautiful calm, and, alone with God, your
crucifix in your hand, with tears ready to
flow, both in trust and gratitude for the
help of to-day, for our Lord has been near
you all the time, and you have never for
gotten Him, think for a moment of all the
hearts that love you and feel for you.
There are many, and you know them all.
There is first the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
your Friend, which loves you to-night so
warmly ; then the hearts of all who are

64 Auxilium Infirmorum

dear to you, the hearts of many friends in
many parts, which feel for you and whose
interest prompts them to do much for
you. And why especially do these love you
and feel for you ? It is because you have
tried to wrestle with difficulties and pains,
not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome
evil by good. This especially endears you
to the Sacred Heart of our Lord, which
once looked for one to comfort, and found
none.

To the natural eye this day seems a
blank, because there is nothing to show.
But God is a hidden God, whose eyes
pierce the surface, and to-night He sees
good effort in your life of to-day, solid
work for Him, many a brick made with
little straw ! And He will sign the day
with His sweet and adorable Name,
written in the Blood of His only Son.
Its history deserves the name of Saviour
to be stamped upon it, for it has saved
you from many a fall, and has helped
others by winning graces for them. It
has the shadow of the Cross, which is

Dark Days 65

the blessing of Jesus Christ, resting on it
from first to last.

Wherefore rejoice in the Lord, as He
comes to give you His blessing at the
end of this hard day. See His uplifted
hand and His eyes so bright and pleased.
All is well. Kiss that hand with grati
tude, because a good day's work is over,
and our Lord has written it down to
your credit in the Book of Life. Treasure
in heaven ! What a consoling thought !
Speak to our Lord quite openly, and do
not hide your pain ; do not make light of
what presses on your heart, buc remember
He loves you and is ready to help you.

Say to Him those lovely words : " Lord,
behold he whom Thou lovest is sick."
You cannot say them too often. " Lord,
behold he whom Thou lovest is sick." And
our Lord replies : " My child, I know it
well, for I am very near you now ; but
your sickness is not unto death, but for the
glory of God." Is this enough for you ?
Your sickness and the glory of God ! are
these two entwined together ? Yes, so it
6

66 Auxilium Infirmorum

is. In peace, then, in the self-same, I
will sleep and rest. I know that my
Redeemer liveth, who having loved His
own that were in the world, loves them to
the end !

XIII
The Work of the Sick for God

NEVER think your life to be of no avail
because you are ill, for it can be full
of fruit for your eternity, and full of work
for our Lord's interests, quite as full as
that of any other living creature. With
the return of strength, you may have
more to show at the end of the day, but
you will not have done more in reality.
Remember that we all work with our
Lord, hand in hand with Him, and it
is He, not we, that produces the effect.
He works through us, and we must be
simply as instruments in His hands, and
therein lies our merit, even as it is the
source of our peace.

The Work of the Sick for God 67

Now it is precisely this being an in
strument, and not the worker, that is
so trying to our natural pride, for it
means the conformity of our will to a
higher will, and this is the greatest
sacrifice we can make, the grandest
homage to our Creator we can offer.
And when the instrument sees no results,
it is apt to grow restless ; but here our
sense of trust in our Lord must come
to our aid, and keep us calm at His feet,
and make us say : "I know in whom
I have believed : I know the Heart in
which I have placed my all."

This is among the great lessons we
have all to learn, and it lies at the root
of, and explains the merit of, the apostle-
ship of pain which the sick are called
upon to exercise. How hard you can
work for the Master, simply because you
are ill, and with what glorious, though
hidden, success ! Yes, glorious, because
hidden ! Faith ! Faith ! till faith be past,
and hope be past, and only love remain.
It is like passing through mountain scenery,

68 Auxilium Infirmorum

with torrents rushing down the mountain
side into the river below, that flows on
lashed by the rocks into foam. Such is
the course of human pain and tears ; on
they flow in a chequered course, dashed
by rocks and checked by difficulties
of all sorts ; yet we know that lakes are
near, and into those lakes the waters at
the last will flow, and there they rest, and
reflect the eternal hills around.

Never think much of the reward for
anything you do for our Lord, but rather
be filled with a sense of all He has done
for you, and in this you have sufficient
motive for serving Him with a full and
glad heart. Our Lord has been your best
friend, and already has clone far more
than enough to deserve your undivided
service. He does not change, and His
years do not grow old ; He never wearies
of His beloved sheep. One day you will
see Him face to face, and meanwhile you
will work for Him, in whatever way and
by whatever means He wishes, so that in
your work there shall be no self-seeking,

The Work of the Sick for God 69

but all shall be done solely out of love for
a Lord who has been very good to you.

Thank God for every suffering He
sends. Thank Him, though you hardly
dare question whether your thanks be truly
sincere. Thank Him most of all when the
temptation to repine is strongest ; thank
Him when you seem on the point of
losing hope. Thank Him at the begin
ning, when the suffering is foreseen ; thank
Him when it comes, thank Him when
it stays, thank Him when it passes away,
not because it has gone, but because it
came, and blessed you and sanctified you,
and drew you nearer to your Lord who
was crucified for you.

Perchance the career of some one is
entrusted to you by our Lord, and is to be
made glorious by your pain. Love the
task, for you are equal to it. And when
you think of the value of one soul — that
our Lord would have become man and
suffered for even one soul — you come to
realize that your hands are indeed full,
that your life has a purpose, for one of the

70 Auxilium Infirmorum

interests of Jesus rests with you. Perhaps
you have more than one ; but even if
it be but one, rejoice and be content, for
there is fruit in your work. And one day,
behind the veil, or perchance before, that
soul will say to you : '* I owe you so much,
for to you under God, and to your pains
endured for me, I owe all. My welfare
was the burden of your prayers and the
thought of your mind and heart." Try,
then, to turn all to good for the cause
of the Good Shepherd. Think of those
" other sheep" that "are not of the
fold," that are far from God, hurrying
into eternity with empty hands, and do
a good stroke of business for these. A
day cannot but be full of gain, on which
even one definite act has been done for
the great cause.

And at night, these words will give
forth their sweet melody within you : " I
know Mine and Mine know Me." They
will be to you as a look from the eyes
of our Lord, to say that all is well. It is
not for us to know exactly what we are

The Work of the Sick for God 71

doing for God : enough that we know we
are in His hand, using the material He
has sent, and as He wishes it to be used,
leaving results to Him. The forces that
transform the world and save souls, are
not bustle and organized u work," as men
think. They are the forces of Nazareth,
they are pain, prayer, obedience, simplicity.
Our Lord took thirty years to teach and
practise them ; shall we learn their value
and splendour in thirty months ?

Hold fast to the lights and lessons you
are learning through sickness, and never
fear but that our Lord gathers His fruit
from your hours of pain and weariness.
Not one twinge of pain is lost, for all
things work together for good, especially
victories over self when gained for the love
of Jesus crucified. Beware both of excite
ment and of discouragement ; fight coolly ;
aim with deliberation, and all will be well.
When Mother Kerr was asked if she
could face another temptation, she said :
" Oh yes, I would like to give the devil
just one more kick." You can do the same.

72 Auxilium Infirmorum

To live at all is a great privilege ;
to live for God is our glory, to live with
God will be our reward. There will
be no greater joy in eternity than the
quiet surprise that a life, apparently so
monotonous and uneventful, so full of
difficulty, should issue in a glorious
existence amid angels and saints around
the throne of God. Try, then, to love
God intensely, "more than these" ; thank
Him for creating you, for showing you
so many marks of love, marks that can
only be seen, like gold in the earth, by
the light of the Cross and of Faith.
Never let it be thought that you have
no work to do, no purpose in life ; and
if we see even a little result ourselves,
as we sometimes do, how much more
must there be which is hidden wisely
from our eyes, but for which we trust
God, who will reveal all when the day
breaks and the shadows retire.

Our Temptations 73

XIV
Our Temptations

NEVER forget that all temptation comes
to you by God's permission, to humble
you, to help you to realize your nearness
to sin, and to make you lean more and
more on Him, and on those things which
lead you to Him, such as prayer and the
sacraments. Your soul must be beautified
and enriched by the fire of some tempta
tion : your will must have some enemy
to wrestle with, otherwise how can it be
exercised for God's cause, how can it be
the will of a soldier ? Of course we
always think we could resist any and
every temptation rather than the one we
actually have to encounter ; but our Lord
knows best. If you take your trial away,
your life would not give God one half
the glory it now does ; and if our Lord
did take away your present cross, He
would certainly give you another. That
is His way with the souls He loves.

74 Auxilium Infirmorum

Morning by morning, as you open your
eyes to the light, you should kneel at the
feet of our Lord, to receive your day's
work. Receive it with unquestioning
trust ; and if on nine clays out of ten
He shall say : " Wrestle again with that
temptation," will you complain ? Will
you not trust our Lord to help you, and
to see you safely through, if you work
well for Him ? We never strike a truer
blow for the interests of the Sacred
Heart, or gain a grander victory over the
powers of darkness, than when with a
" Begone, Satan ! " we send the devil back
to hell, and maintain inviolate the purity
of our souls.

The devil will often, when you are sick,
try to rob you of what you know to be
your greatest treasure. He knows you
are weak, so he sets to work to plague
you ; yet you know that our Lord is very
near you then, and you are giving Him
glory all the time, and He is pleased.
The temptation is very real pain to you,
but you are ready to suffer for our Lord,

Our Temptations 75

and to strike a blow for Him. Every
hour of this pain of mind is worth much
pain of body, and every moment of it is
laying up treasure for eternity.

May every blessing that will make you
nearer to our Lord come to you from the
Sacred Heart, even though it take the
form of bitter and sustained temptation.
No virtue is gained without much labour,
no virtue is preserved without constant
vigilance, for the adversary of all virtue,
especially of the lilies in the garden of
our Lord, is ceaseless and very crafty.
He is not a fair foe at all, but a liar, and
ever acts as a liar ; so be not dismayed
by the persistence of his attacks, nor
doubtful of ultimate victory. Like St.
Paul, you must " light a good fight," and
such a fight will be a prolonged one, for
victory comes only after a campaign ; and
a good fight must be a cheerful fight,
wherefore be not distressed. Why art
thou sad, oh my soul ? Hope in God, for
His right arm never lets thee sink.

The enemy rages, but let your soul be

76 Auxilium Infirmorum

possessed in patience. Look at our Lord
and say : " Master, it is all for Thee ;
help me, for I love Thee, and will bear
all for Thee."

XV

The Scourging at the Pillar

IN the many predictions of His Sacred
Passion, our Lord spoke frequently of
His scourging at the pillar. Nor need
we wonder at this, for not only was it a
punishment most dreadful, the one indeed
that more than any other made Him a
worm and no man, but it was so hideous
an outrage on all sense of justice. Pilate
had repeatedly examined our Lord, and
as repeatedly had declared His absolute
innocence ; Herod was equally unable to
convict Him of the smallest misdeed ; yet,
in spite of this, Pilate dared to say : " I
find no cause in Him : therefore [to please
you] I will chastise Him, and let Him go."
Imagine, if you can, the pain those

The Scourging at the Pillar 77

words must have caused our Lord !
Imagine, if you can, the anguish of our
Lady as she heard them, and understood
that in a moment her Child, who had been
subject to her for thirty years, the most
beautiful among the sons of men, who had
gone about doing good, was to be in a
hall alone, with brutal men around, in
furiated with drink and malice, who would
tear from His aching body the clothes she
herself had woven for Him, and then with
scourges rend the flesh from those sacred
limbs, and cause the blood to flow in
streams. Yes, thus did our Lady see her
Son carried off, while no one raised a
voice of protest, and our Lord, like a
lamb before his shearers, opened not
His mouth.

Do you know what it is to have a friend
who must needs undergo some serious
operation ? It is probably talked about
for some time before it takes place. Must
it be ? can nothing else be tried ? what
is the danger ? are questions often and
eagerly asked. At length it is decided

78 Auxilium Infirmorum

that no other remedy will suffice, and the
day and hour are fixed. The surgeons
arrive, and all friends are excluded
from the room, and the door is shut !
How long the minutes seem ! Half an
hour at length has gone, and still they are
caged within those closed doors. An
hour, perhaps more, goes by, and at last
they come forth. It was a terrible sus
pense for those who love, yet they knew
that the patient was in kind and skilful
hands, keen to avoid all unnecessary pain,
and all unconscious while under the
surgeon's knife.

Does this picture at all help us to under
stand the sorrows of our Lady during the
hour in which our Lord was scourged, for
it is said to have lasted a whole hour ?
It does, and it does not ; strictly, the
picture fails altogether, for our Lord was
taken to those who were bribed to give
all the pain they could, whose sole object
was to reduce Him to such a state that
the Jews would be content, and might no
longer clamour for His death.

The Scourging at the Pillar 79

Indeed, the scene baffles even the
powers of Scripture to describe it. We
know from contemporaneous history the
terrible cruelty of those Roman scourgings.
Often the poor victim died beneath the
lashes, inflicted by whips made of three
thongs of leather, knotted with sharp
pieces of leather or of bone, that cut
deep into the flesh. Yet, afor these
scourges our Lord is ready ; to these
strikers He gives His body ; on His back
the wicked shall wreak their fury ; His
heart is broken within Him, and all His
limbs tremble."

Why is it so severe ? In Deuteronomy
(xxv. 2) we read the law that explains
its atrocity. It runs thus : " According to
the measure of the sin shall the measure
of the stripes be." And the sin for which
that scourging atoned wras awful in its
measure, in its results, in its degradation
of God's fair image in the soul. Yes,
there arose before our Lord's eyes a
vision of darkest sins, repeated again and
again, carried to a pitch that cannot be

H C. SS. R.

8o Auxilium Infirmorum

described or realized. They are deeds
of darkness against the fairest of virtues ;
they are deeds that defile a man and rob
him, in many cases for ever, of his clean
ness of heart ; they are sins committed in
thought, in word, and in deed ; they are
the deeds of the flesh, for which only a
punishment on the flesh of the Lamb of
God can atone ; they are deeds that must
not be named, but whose very secrecy
seemed to call for this outward mark of
God's hatred and detestation of it. No
sins separate men more quickly, or in
a more hopeless way, from God ; hell
is paved with them ; but the world of
to-day winks at them, nay, applauds them,
while it derides the very possibility of
that virtue which makes men as angels,
yea, as lilies in the garden of the Lord.

Oh, let us be strict with ourselves here,
knowing no compromise or friendship
with such deeds, but, with our standard
fixed high, remember that we are the
children of Mary Immaculate and the
brethren of Jesus, carefully avoiding

The Scourging at the Pillar 81

the least touch of that foul fiend which
strengthened the might of those cruel
men, and quickened their lashes, as they
tore the flesh from the limbs of Him who
had said : "Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they shall see God."

But it is not only on such mortal sins
that this scene of the Passion throws its
blessed light, but on venial sin also. Let
us see how this is.

Consider the features of the scourging :
they are, first, its cruelty and heartlessness,
its total disregard to pain ; secondly, the
disfigurement brought about by it. With
difficulty could our Lady recognize our
Lord when He was brought forth, so
changed was He. He wras still alive, but
from the crown of His head to the soles
of His feet there was no soundness in
Him, wounds and swelling sores, not
bound up nor fomented with oil. And
thirdly, the scourging has a feature not
shared by the other greater sufferings of
our Lord : it is the repetition of the blows.
The nails were driven in once for all, but
7

82 Auxilium Infirmorum

the scourging was long continued, while
blow after blow fell. And these are the
cowardly features of deliberate, venial sin.

Holy Church is the body of Christ, and
we are its guardians. Yet, do we not
love to take the scourge and chastise
that body, not to kill it, indeed, but to
be cruel to it, by our waste of grace, our
determination to be our own masters, our
resistance of rule, our want of zeal ?
After His scourging our Lord was still
alive — yes, but very near to death. So
is it with those who make it their policy
to go as far as they can in the direc
tion of wrong. Soon, very soon, they
will go too far, and the death of the
soul by mortal sin must inevitably follow.
Meanwhile the scourging by the thongs
of venial sin goes on, cruel, heartless, and
disfiguring, reckless of the loss and danger
incurred, reckless of the pain given. No
scene of the Passion gives a truer ocular
proof of the evil of sin than the Scourging
at the Pillar.

Looking, then, on the mangled body of

Why art thou sad, O my Soul ? 83

our Lord, what should we pray for ? and
what should we have done had we been
permitted to have been there ? Let us do
it now. Let us bear in mind that the
Church is the body of our Lord, that
her strength and beauty depend in great
measure on our lives, on their purity, on
their being clothed with graces well-used
for God. Instead of scourging that body
with whips of deliberate and oft-repeated
sin, let us assuage its wounds, and heal
them by warm hearts, tender consciences,
generous wills, devoted efforts. Let us,
by aiming high, declare war against all
low standards, increase our sense of the
evil of sin, and endeavour, by days of
fidelity, of watchfulness, of duty, and of
self-sacrifice, to walk in all things perfect.

XVI
Why art thou sad, O my Soul?

THE whole work of life and the whole
joy of eternity is to love God. Our lives

84 Auxilium Infirmorum

here below must be lives of love, of pure,
unselfish love for a great cause — the cause
of God and the salvation of souls. Let us
never forget the fact that we are all work
ing for a cause. It gives such meaning to
all we do, and is a basis for love and joy.
This life of love takes many a shape —
suffering of all kinds, physical and mental,
is one of them, and one peculiarly blest
by God. Pain is really only a conse
quence of sin, and ought to be a punish
ment, and nothing more. But, by God's
goodness, it is a means of merit, a feeder
of the life of love, the gold that makes
crowns not only for those who suffer, but
also for those on whose behalf that suffer
ing is endured. May God bless you, and
help you always to be true and faithful
to that large measure of light and good
sense and purpose with which He has in
mercy enriched you ! Hold fast to every
particle of it — it is all so good and neces
sary, and once you begin to part with the
least inch of your spiritual land, the
enemy has got in, and at once evil is

Why art thou sad, O my Soul? 85

sown, and who shall say how far it will
spread ?

Ever maintain a brave and calm spirit,
for a want of courage and calm is often the
beginning of trouble. Sanctify your life
and work by prayer. Often bear in mind
the lonely tabernacles of the world ; their
name is legion, for they are many, and by
raising your thoughts to them, and breath
ing an ejaculation of homage and love to
our Lord dwelling there, you are making
reparation to Him for the sins and neglect
of others.

We are ever learning that life is a
warfare. Far from home, amid enemies
and strangers, we are to fight the good
fight till the end shall come. The strain
would be less, if we could see more result
to our work, and could feel we were
succeeding in wrestling with our diffi
culties, if we could rest satisfied that
we had done our best, and could hear
our Lord tell us so. Indeed, it is the
impossibility of doing this that is a great
part of all trials. But were it different,

86 Auxilium Infirmorum

should we not run great risk of pride,
and of being numbered with those " who
have received their reward " ?

And after all, what does our Lord ask
of us in our daily life ? Is it to succeed ?
No ; He only asks : " Will you really
try ? " And any one that at the end of a
day can say, " I have tried to-day," may
look for a blessing from our Lord, and
close his eyes in sleep, filled with the
peace of Christ.

XVII
God's Choice of Me

LET these words ever ring like sweet
music in your ears. God has made
millions of human beings, but He might
have made millions more than He has
done, or than He ever will. The fact
that you exist at all is an immense gift
from the love of God. He chose you to
exist, while to others He has denied this
boon. And once you exist, you exist for

God's Choice of Me 87

ever, for you are endowed with immor
tality, and made for happiness, for God,
for eternity. It was a blessed day for you
the day you were born. On that day
you received a gift from God, for which
you will be thankful for eternity.

Now God could not do anything with
out an object, let alone create an immortal
soul. Every insect has a purpose in God's
mind and plan, " how much more you, O
you of little faith ! " You have got a
work to do for God, quite distinct from
the work of anybody else, and God expects
a fruit from you which He does not look
for from any one else. And if you do
not do that work, if you do not produce
that fruit, God will not have it. No one
can do it for you ; it is most definitely
marked off, and a record is kept of it in
the books of life.

This truth, that we are all of us crea
tures of great importance, is overwhelming.
So often men, especially the sick, imagine
they are not wanted in the world, that
they are in the way, and an obstacle to

88 Auxilium Infirmorum

every one. It is not so. Faith does not
teach us that, and there is no grandeur in
that view. To adopt it, is to debase an
immortal soul, and undervalue its destiny.

What, then, is your work ? Ah, that
you do not fully know. Why did God
call you into being ? No one can say.
Where is the work to be done? God
only knows. It may be in Chicago, or in
Glasgow, or in any quarter of the globe ;
yet certain it is that it is a definite work,
of great importance, looked for eagerly
by God, and to be done by you, for no
one else can do it.

This fact should be assimilated by all,
and let the sick especially make it their
own. To believe it, and to act upon it, is
not to live in a fool's paradise. No ; it
is to make life a great reality, and full of
joy and interest ; it is to make God a
very present Being, our daily task of
immense value, and to assign to us all our
true dignity.

And how are we to work out this plan
for God, and to give Him this fruit ? We

Difficulties at Prayer

work first of all in the dark. There is
great merit in that, for we see no results,
no change from all our efforts ; yet we
trust God, and know for our encourage
ment that something great is being done.
We work, moreover, with our daily graces,
our little duties, our hourly opportunities,
gathering up every little fragment greedily
to our pile, cementing the little stones
together with care that are to build the
house of our eternity. So life passes, and
the day of eternity surely dawns, and
Jesus is standing on the shore to welcome
us, because " we have finished the work
God gave us to do " when He made
choice of us.

XVIII
Difficulties at Prayer

IT is well to remember that for distrac
tions at prayer there is no cure, but only
strong and effective remedies. The devil
so cordially hates prayer, and has such a

90 Auxilium Infirmorum

dread of its power with God, he knows
so well God's strange love of prayer, that,
though he is as busy as he can be, and
has so many irons in the fire, he thinks it
worth his while to do all he can to ruin
or spoil even the " Our Father " of a
little child.

Never is he so wide-awake to torment us
as in the hour of prayer, and thus he will
act towards you as long as you live. So
be not surprised or discouraged, if you
find that distractions at prayer are con
tinuous and violent. There is no sin in
them, when they are not wilful ; on the
contrary, they tend to purify your prayer,
and to increase its value in the sight of
God.

A most powerful remedy against dis
tractions at prayer, is the deliberate
placing of ourselves in God's presence,
before we begin to pray. u I will speak
to the Lord though I am but dust and
ashes. Thou, God, seest me." What
am I going to do ? to whom am I
going to speak ? about what am I

Difficulties at Prayer 91

going to exercise my mind and heart
for the next five minutes ? These are
questions that should come to our aid, and
steady the mind for a moment, before we
launch forth into prayer. " Before prayer,
prepare thy soul, and be not as a man
that tempteth God." That momentary
act of recollection before you begin to
pray, will do more than anything to banish
distractions. It brings God near to you,
and makes you almost feel His presence,
while it impresses upon you the solemnity
and importance of what you are going
to do.

And if, in the course of prayer, you
find your mind losing its hold, or wander
ing at all, do not get feverish, or excited
and troubled, but quietly again recollect
yourself for an instant, and then proceed.
No sin has been committed ; no want of
care is to be attributed to you. On the
contrary, God is pleased, and will bless
that prayer. His ears will be attentive
again to the voice of your supplication.

As to a feeling of unreality in your

92 Auxilium Infirmorum

prayers, as though your heart did not
re-echo the words of your lips, this must
be sternly put down and set aside : it is a
part of the devil's teasing, and you must
laugh at him, for resorting to such petty
and mean artifices to drive you from
prayer. This particular trouble will
probably affect you more when you are
ill, than when you are well ; but ill or
well, deride it, and go on as though it
wrere not present.

Feelings of dryness and a want of satis
faction with our prayers will come from
time to time, and nothing can stop them.
They are good for us, and come with our
Lord's full permission, to test our love for
Him, and our readiness to walk in the
light of His teaching, whether it pleases
us or no. The greatest saints have felt
them keenly, but they have but increased
their appetite for prayer, and their sense of
its value and necessity. It is a matter of
which we should speak to our confessor,
but never one to disquiet us. We are
not to pray simply because we need

Difficulties at Prayer 93

strength and comfort ; we are to pray
because God tells us to do so. Thus
prayer becomes a sacrifice, and a sacrifice
offered in holy obedience.

Pray for the Church, pray for the holy
souls in Purgatory, pray for those at
home, for family and friends ; pray for
yourself and for a happy death, the
greatest of all graces.

On days when you are less well, or in
great pain, do not hesitate to curtail the
amount of your vocal prayer. Remember,
it is made up to our Lord splendidly in
other ways, and this must make you
content.

Prayer and suffering ! These two !
May they ever ascend from your life to
the throne of God, for the welfare of the
Church, for the conversion of sinners, for
the peace of Christendom, for the sancti-
fication of your soul.

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XIX

The Shepherds

THERE is no descriptive passage in Holy
Scripture more vivid, more full of light
and beauty, than St. Luke's account of
the first Christmas night. It is worthy of
her to whom we owe it — the handmaid of
the Lord, to whom He that is mighty had
done great things indeed. Mary kept all
these words, pondering them in her heart,
they never lost their freshness, and from
that heart they come as rays of light, as
messages of comfort and encouragement.
"And there were in the same country
shepherds, watching, and keeping the
night-watches over their flock." We can
never separate the shepherds from our
thoughts of Christmas, and we cannot but
wish that we knew more of them ; yet
how our hearts go out to them even from
the'little we do know !

Most fitting it is that our Lord, the
Good Shepherd, who giveth His life for

The Shepherds 95

His sheep, and who calleth His sheep by
name, should first be adored and acknow
ledged on earth by simple shepherds !
It was in those self-same fields that David
had guarded his father's flocks, leading
there a life of mingled contemplation
and work, all clothed with solitude and
obscurity, the life pre-eminently of all
who would truly be shepherds and work
for souls. And now other shepherds are
doing the same, while hard by, in David's
own city, One has come who shall sit on
David's throne, and have a kingdom of
which there will be no end.

Let us picture these devoted men out
at night, protecting what God had given
them, doing what God bade them do.
Many nights had passed and nothing had
happened ; but see ! to-night, an angel
of the Lord, St. Gabriel, one of the seven
who stand before the Lord, stood by
them, the brightness of God shining
round about them, so that they feared
with a great fear. And the angel
said to them : " Fear not, for behold I

96 Auxilium Infirmorum

bring you good tidings of great joy, that
shall be to all the people. For this day
is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the
Lord, in the City of David " — yes, close to
you, within a few yards of where you
kneel, so that not only shall you know of
Him, you shall also see Him ! " And this
shall be a sign to you : you shall find the
Infant wrapped in swraddling clothes, and
laid in a manger."

How this strange combination of ideas
must have struck those frank and simple
minds ! A Saviour is born to us — but
He is laid in an ox's eating- trough !
" And suddenly " (what graphic power
in that word !) " there was with the
angel a multitude of the heavenly host,
praising God, and saying : Glory to God
in the highest, and on earth peace to
men of good-will." Wonderful summary
of the work of our Lord, and glorious
statement of the outcome of His gracious
visit to us — glory to God, and peace to
men ! And what did the shepherds do ?
They did not wait, but at once they said

The Shepherds 97

to one another : " Let us go to Bethlehem,
and let us see this word that has come to
pass." We should notice in passing not
only the zeal of these simple men, but
also their faith. They have no doubts.
They do not say : " Let us see whether
this word has come to pass or not," but
" Let us go and see what has come to
pass, and which the Lord by His angels
has shown to us." "And they came with
haste ! And they found Mary and Joseph
and the Infant lying in the manger ! "
Mary and Joseph first ; and where, dear
Mother, is thy first - born Babe, our
Saviour, who will take away the sins
of the world ? How the shepherds
must have been drawn to our Lady that
night, and with what simplicity and joy
she would listen to their tale ! St.
Gabriel had come to them, as he had
come to her nine short months before,
and to them he had used the self-same
words, " Fear not/' as he had used to her.
All this was a bond, and our Lady's heart
would go out to them, as the first adorers
8

98 Auxilium Infirmorum

of her Child. And shall not the thoughts
of Christmas help to make us love our
Lady more, as we too kneel to adore her
Child, who is still as an Infant wrapped in
swaddling clothes, helpless as at Bethlehem
in the Sacrament of His Love, finding a
resting-place in the poor manger of human
hearts !

Such is the opening scene in the life
of our Lord on earth. We have been
gathering lights and lessons as we have
brought it before ourselves, yet there is
one special lesson we may learn, a lesson
most simple, yet fundamental, a lesson
for those who are willing to be as little
children, a lesson for the sick, a lesson
after our Lord's own heart.

The story of the shepherds is a lovely
unfolding of the laws that commonly
regulate the dispensation of God's graces
to men. There are exceptions, of course,
but God as a rule acts by law, and we
learn from this meditation how it is that
graces are poured abroad for our refresh
ment and aid.

The Shepherds 99

"

What were the shepherds doing when
this great light came to them ? They
were doing the work God wished them
to do. They were using what light and
grace they had, and using it both well and
gladly ; nay, there was an element of
hardship and suffering in their use of
grace, for they were out at night, in the
cold, and then it was that God gave them
more. Had one of them said : u I shall
not keep watch to-night ; please do my
work for me," how much he would have
missed ! The angels would have come
and gone, and would not come again ;
and the others would have said to him
who stayed at home : " We have seen
Christ the Lord, our Saviour, born to us
hard by in that stable last night."

Yes, then it was that grace visited
these simple men, and it found them
ready, for they were using grace at the
very time, and the one grace well used
led to another, as is ever the rule. They
received the light of faith, and at once
they go to adore and use the light,

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finding the Holy Family, kneeling almost
before the Blessed Sacrament, and thus
finding all things.

Nor is the chain of graces yet com
plete, for not only do they practise their
new-born faith, but they go forth into
Bethlehem and preach the Gospel, and
tell others where they may find the Child
with Mary its Mother. This is God's
ordinary law in the dispensation of graces
to our souls, as true now as on the first
Christmas night. There are so many
instances of it that we must needs recog
nize its truth even as we must admire its
beauty.

What was Moses doing when God
appeared to Him in the bush of flame at
Horeb, to tell him of his stupendous
mission to Egypt ? He was minding his
flocks ! What was Gideon doing when
God called him to lead His people, and
free them from their oppressors ? He
was threshing his father's wheat. What
was St. Peter doing when called to be an
apostle of our Lord ? He was fishing or

The Shepherds 101

washing his nets. Nay, what was our
Lord Himself doing when the hour came
for Him to go forth from Nazareth to
preach the Gospel to the poor ? He was
working at His trade as a carpenter. And
assuredly, if ever we are to do anything
special for God, the call to do it, and the
grace with which to do it, will come to
us when we are busy with our Father's
business, or it will not come at all. It
will come as a crown to graces already
sent and generously used, and which have
prepared the way for some special grace
to receive a welcome. *£ 4 Qv \- **> 5

There is one other striking and
touching illustration of this sweet law of
grace which may help us. It comes at
the end of our Lord's life, when Bethlehem
repeated itself on Calvary, and our Lord
was once more as a Babe, wrapped in the
fine linen that bound His wounds and
laid in Mary's arms. It is the case of the
good thief. In that conversion, the most
marvellous and touching in the history of
the world, the same law of grace is seen

102 Auxilium Infirmorum

in full and loveliest operation. The first
grace that found its way to that soul was
welcomed, though how it came, or what
it was, we do not know. The certain
knowledge that death is near is in itself
a grace that knocks loudly at the heart.
Then he began to fear, then to be sorry
for his wasted life, then he saw God, and
recognized by the light of a wondrous
faith his God beside him on the Cross ;
then he hoped for pardon, then he
begged for it aloud, and then he preached
Christ crucified, as no one has done before
or since.

Let us learn our lesson : it is to value
the post in which God has placed us, to
accept it with contentment and joy, even
though it be a bed of sickness, knowing it
to be the best for us, and to cling to it
loyally. How often we are tempted to
wish for some change, to be crushed by
the monotony of the daily grind, and to
wish for other spheres and greater graces,
to be discouraged, and almost irritated and
surprised, that they do not come. The

The Shepherds 103

day may come when God will call us to
other work, or may visit us with a season
of extraordinary grace, for His own wise
purposes ; but such a day must find us
watching at our post, or it will be lost
and disregarded, and will but add to
our responsibility, without increasing our
glory. In a word, let us be true shep
herds, and keep the watches, even though
they be night-watches, amid the darkness
of discouragement and inward desolation,
over the pastures assigned to us by the
Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. So
shall we work for God, expecting the
coming of the Saviour, ready for the
visits of angels who bring graces to men,
and who bear aloft their prayers in turn
to the throne of God. And at all times
we can find the Child wrapped in swad
dling clothes, with Mary His Mother,
teaching and exhorting us to be as little
children if we would enter the kingdom
of heaven.

These are a the things that are told us
by the shepherds " ; let us " hear them

104 Auxilium Infirmorum

and wonder at them," so simple are they,
yet so true ; let us keep them, pondering
them in our hearts !

XX

The Kings

IT is not the least among the beauties
of the events and sayings recorded in
Holy Scripture that they may be regarded
in many ways and thus be made to yield
fruits and lessons most varied and sweet.
The great event of the visit of the Kings
to adore our Lord at Bethlehem has its
direct and obvious lesson, yet it suggests
others also. Indeed, the search for our
Lord by these wise men from the East,
inquiring where Christ had been born,
anxious to pay Him due homage and glad
to offer Him gifts, is but a living and
lovely example of the search for Him
that forms the main duty and privilege
of every Christian soul. In Baptism we
were made His own, and the light of

The Kings 105

faith that then appeared is our guide,
drawing us on to an ever closer union
with Him, to the desire for a constant
union with Him, so that we may say with
St. Paul : " I live, now not I, but Christ
liveth in me." And as we consider the
perserving fidelity, the grand determina
tion, of the Magi to find our Lord at all
costs, undaunted by any obstacle, we see
the spirit of desire for the closest friend
ship with Him who is our King, not
content with any half measures, but a
readiness to carry the matter by storm,
by a holy violence, until the branches are
truly engrafted on the Vine, and we abide
in His love, living in the faith of the Son
of God, who loved us and delivered Him
self for us.

And so the Epiphany brings to our
minds the spiritual birth of our Lord
in the souls of each one of us, and
shows how the life of union with Him
thus begun, should grow and be intensi
fied. He is to be our King, and we are
to be His friends. No coldness should

io6 Auxilium Infirmorum

ever exist between us ; there should be
no banishment of our Lord, no welcome
to His enemy. Our words should all be
spoken in His name and spirit ; every
deed should be begun with His blessing,
and finished so as to give Him glory, that
the life of union and love begun on earth
should be a prelude to, and all one with,
the life of hereafter in the King's true
home and realm.

Where is He that is born King of
God's chosen children ? He is within
each soul that seeks to love and serve
Him ; He is in the work that daily
comes to hand ; He is in every sorrow
and joy. He is to be found in the poor
and suffering, in every temptation that
visits us, in every sacrifice that is asked
of us. He is to be found in prayer and
in work, and above all in the two sources
of union with Himself, divinely instituted
for the crying needs of human souls,
framed with all tenderness for their
weakness, yet stamped with the power
and majesty of God — the two Sacraments

The Kings 107

of Confession and Holy Communion. By
these we can answer the question : Where
is He that is born King of God's children ?
for they are the sweet forces that repair
to the full any broken link of love. They
are the interchange of good offices and
gifts between friends : the fountains of
refreshment that lead to perseverance
and to zeal.

Let us look at the wise men as our
instructors with regard to these two
means of grace, for they may suggest to
us several points as to our method and
spirit in their regard, where we perchance
fall short.

And first, let us notice their earnest
desire to reach and find our Lord.
u With desire I have desired to eat this
Pasch with you," said our Lord when
about to give us the Blessed Sacrament.
And desire, born of a faith that shows
us our needs and assures us that such
needs shall be abundantly satisfied, ought
to animate every approach to the two
Sacraments of union with our Lord.

io8 Auxilium Infirmorum

Where is He that is born our King ?
Find Him we will, and find Him we
must. The way may be long, and dark,
and difficult, but we will see the Lord,
we will hear His voice, wre will offer Him
our love. Is this always our bearing
towards these sources of help ? It is
so sometimes, but how often they are
approached in a half-hearted, uninterested,
and mechanical way, because we take no
pains to bring home to ourselves our need
of grace, and of finding Him afresh who
is born our King.

Again, let us notice that the wise men
took our Lord as they found Him, and
were content. His simplicity, His silence,
His helplessness were no stumbling-block
to them. Is it so with us ? Do we not
at times, inwardly at least, complain that
in these Sacraments of union with our
Lord He is too quiet, not making suffi
cient stir within us, too simple in His
message, too ordinary in His demands,
too commonplace in His requests ? We
would fain have the feelings and emotions

The Kings 109

more stirred and excited, while, on the
contrary, the visit to our Saviour and His
welcome to us are rather sombre and
restrained, and we feel we would wish
there were more excitement and show
about it. In a word, we as a rule expect
too much.

And more : the wise men offered
gifts to our Lord, hoping for nothing
thereby, not expecting gifts in return,
only a blessing from Him as signified
in His acceptance of what they had
thought fit to bring. No Confession, no
Communion, is complete on our part
unless these three gifts be offered — the
gold of genuine love that is born of grati
tude, of a realization of our Lord's worth
and claims ; the incense of much prayer,
of earnest appeal for help, of thanks
giving, of honest discussion of difficulties
and needs, of trusty recommendation of
our lives with their work into the hands
of our Friend ; and the myrrh of sorrow
and self-reproach for graces wasted — all
sweetened and made fragrant by the spirit

no Auxilium Infirmorum

of reparation, that brightens and relieves
all sorrow for past losses, and enables our
Lord to wipe away the tears from our
eyes, and bid us go on our way rejoicing.
Yes, go on our way — where to ? Where
did the Divine Child send the wise men ?
To their own country, but by another
way. Beautiful description of the fruit of
every good Confession and Communion !
We are bidden go back to our own
country, to our own homes with their
work and surroundings, but by another
way, in another spirit, with fresh strength
and courage, there to show that we have
not sought our King in vain, that in truth
we have seen and found the Lord at
Bethlehem, in the House of Bread !

And there is in all the wise men have
taught us one further feature that colours
every lesson, and which we should much
bear in mind, if these Sacraments are to
help us as they ought to do. We notice
in their whole conduct and bearing
the simple desire to do their part, and to
do it to the full, with never a thought

The Kings in

of our Lord's part. Is it not very true
that quite commonly we do the reverse ?
that we expect our Lord to do everything,
and content ourselves with being merely
passive recipients of His favours ? Indeed
He will do His part, and indeed He has
His part to do ; He has much to forgive,
much to make good, much to bestow,
much to promise. But we have our part
also ; we must seek, we must pray, we
must offer gifts, we must open the heart,
we must stir the will, we must make
the ears attentive. Then indeed at each
Confession and Communion our King
will be born again within us, and if angels
ask "Where is He that is born a King
to-day?" the answer may be : Here, in
the heart of this child, as in Bethlehem of
old, in humility, in innocence, in detach
ment, in simplicity, in a heart full of
good-will, emptied of all love of self.

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XXI
The Assumption of our Lady

MARY is assumed into heaven, the angels
rejoice, and, in their hymns of praise, bless
God for the fruits of man's redemption.
They bless God that human souls, washed
in the blood of the Lamb, are flocking in,
to nil the vacancies caused by the fall of
the rebel angels ; they bless God for the
glories of Mary, who is beautiful above
the sons of men, in whose lips grace is
poured abroad, and who has passed to
her high throne, where she stands at the
King's right hand, in gilded clothing, for
He greatly desires her beauty. Our
Lady's life is over, and her death of
longing desire has come ; her soul has
gone back to God, and to it her body is
united, for it could not be that the body,
whence Jesus had drawn His life, should
rest in the tomb or see corruption.
We know no tomb of pur Lady ; did
we do so, it would be, next to Mount

The Assumption of our Lady 113

Calvary, the most sacred spot on earth.
We have no relics of our Lady ; did they
exist, they would be, next to the relics
of the Passion, the most prized treasures
of the Church. But " all the glory of the
King's daughter is within," and our Lady
lives on in the love of her children, and
this earth knows her no more. With her
comeliness and beauty she hath set out,
and proceeded prosperously to the new
Jerusalem, and there she reigns, crushing
the serpent's head, and dispensing graces
to all her children.

The happiness of heaven is the beatiiic
vision — to see God aas He is,'' and that
for eternity ; and all other joys come to
us together with that one. No one has
so full a share of that joy and vision as
our Blessed Lacly. " Many daughters
have gathered together riches, but thou
hast surpassed them all."

Many reasons account for this : the

office, the dignity, the privileges of Mary

would account for it ; but one reason

stands out above the rest, and is of

9

ii4 Auxilium Infirmorum

practical instruction to us, especially to
the sick. It is our Lady's likeness to
our Lord in His portion of suffering.
" Ought not Christ to have suffered, and
so enter into His glory ? " These are
words which surely St. Peter and St.
Paul might hesitate to have used, but
our Lord uses them Himself. And ought
not Mary to have suffered, and so enter
into her glory ? for " if we suffer with
Christ, we shall also reign with Him."
No cross, no crown, through the Cross
to the light, is the law for all. Let us
read it in the glory of Easter, and in
the brightness of the Assumption, and
bow our necks to the gentle yoke of
Christ. Time was when our Lady could
say : " O all ye that pass by the way, stay
and see if there be any sorrow like unto
mine." Yes, the seven Dolours bring out
the glories of the Assumption ; u the
sword of grief has pierced the soul of
Mary," and now "a crown of twelve
stars" rests upon her head.

The sick indeed are tried and tested

The Assumption of our Lady 115

by many afflictions and sorrows ; you
chafe beneath their sharp pricks, and are
surprised at times that the stream of life
does not flow more smoothly. Do you
forget " that through many tribulations
we must reach the kingdom of God " ?
Do you forget that only by the fire of
pain can you be cleansed and adorned
with a comeliness and a beauty, in which
you may set out on your last journey,
proceed prosperously at your judgement,
and reign for ever with our Lady and
her Son ?

Look first at your crucifix with our Lady
beside it, and then at the Ascension and
at the Assumption. Assuredly our Lady
says to you from her throne : " Suffer
patiently, suffer sweetly, suffer joyfully,
with great and loving hearts ; then you
will enter into glory."

The Assumption is really the Feast of
our Lady's happy death. It is called in
Latin, pausatio or dormitio, and by the
Greeks, koimesis — words that mean the
calm sleep and repose of a happy death

n6 Auxilium Infirmorum

after a life of pain well endured. u He
giveth His beloved sleep." Let us pray
often, let us pray daily for this crowning
grace. When you 'say the fourth glorious
Mystery of the Rosary, let this be the
favour you seek ; or say daily three Hail
Marys for a happy death, that our Lady
may be with you now, and at the hour
of your death.

And in the joy of this going home of
our Queen and Mother, look beyond the
grave to the home of the blessed, to
which she calls you, and where she waits
to welcome you. Let us put away all
discouragement at the memory of our
own miserable selves and miserable past,
for, in spite of it all, heaven is still open
and accessible to us. Draw us after thee,
dear Mother ; we will run in the odour
of thy sweetness, and after this our exile
we shall see the blessed fruit of thy
womb, Jesus.

Everything has an " after" save one
alone. God is the summer, the day, the
calm, that has no after. And with God

After an Illness 117

is our Lady. Oh, what will it be to be
welcomed home by our Mother after a
long absence, an absence full of peril
and uncertainty ! In the welcome with
which Mary received her risen Son from
the dead, we see what is in store for us.
"This, my Son, was. dead and is alive!
was lost and is found ! Alleluia ! "

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin
Mary, pray for us that we may be made
worthy of the promises of Christ.

XXII
After an Illness

DURING your illness you have been through
a great deal, and it was like walking through
desert places without water ; but those
long weary days have done a vast work
for you, and have not been thrown away.
They have been as a chain by which our
Lord drew you to Himself, as He has
drawn many before you. These are the
paths by which He entered into His

n8 Auxilium Infirmorum

glory, and won a home in the heart of
mankind. You have given Him all your
pain of body and of mind, and it is in
eternity now, quite changed in its aspect,
and it has taught you so much. Do not
dwell on it now, but close the volume,
and while the lesson and fruit remain,
think only of a happy future. It seems as
though you had earned your consolation,
and after the long, dark night, in which
our Lord seemed so far away, though
in reality He was very near, He shows
Himself to you as the good Samaritan,
not " passing by," but going near to
you, and into your wounds pouring oil
and wine. How true He has been to you ;
His ways are not ours ; but we can
always trust Him.

All pain of mind and body is part
of our purgatory, and keeps us at the
feet of God, and prevents all presump
tion or pride. " Let he that thinketh
himself to stand, take heed lest he fall."
As long as our Lord in mercy sends you
pain to bear, you will be guarded from

After an Illness 119

ever thinking yourself to stand. u It is
good for me that Thou hast humbled me."
You will find these words to be the burden
of your song for eternity. Oh, let us trust
the hand of God ! Do not fear your
temptation, only fear your weakness, yet
be strong by reason of your trust, by
reason of the good-will you are ready to
show to our Lord.

During your illness, you have tried to
please our Lord by prayer, and probably
you have never prayed better in your life,
or pleased our Lord so much by trying
to pray, though prayer seemed difficult
and dry. And now you are better, and
the pain is not so severe. What does this
mean, but that you have done a work ;
some desperate cause has been won,
some soul is now reconciled with God,
some sinner has died a good death, and is
either in heaven or very nearly so, and all
because of your pain, which you bore for
the souls for which Jesus died ? Let this
bring peace and joy to your soul ; let it
bring courage and readiness for further

i2o Auxilium Infirmorum

battles, if such be the desire of the Sacred
Heart.

During your illness, it was thought per
haps you would not live long, but you
have come back from the very gate of
death into the midst of this world, led by
the right hand of our Lord. He wants
you here still, your place is not yet ready
for you in heaven. Your illness had a
work to do, and just as it was thought you
were to take your place at the marriage-
feast, a low place, probably, our Lord said :
" No, my child, go up higher " ; but to
get higher, your stay in the vale of tears
must be prolonged. And so you left
Christ for Christ, and though to-day you
might have been in heaven, you are still
here, and all your pain has gone to make
your place at the marriage-feast a higher
one, nearer God, for ever. Are you satis
fied and content to wait and work yet a
little while ? O taste and see how sweet
is the Lord.

Religion Pure and Undefiled 121

XXIII
Religion Pure and Undefiled

IN your illness, it has been your religion
that has specially supported you, and,
without its lights and helps, you could
not have gone through it, or turned it
to profit.

When you were well, you were perhaps
fond of going to Holy Mass as often as
you could, and by those Masses you
learnt to love our Lord, and to grasp
the value of His friendship. Through
them a blessing has rested on this time
of pain, and your sickness has been an
act of homage and sacrifice to God, in
which God has never failed you, never
been far from you, while your faith, with
its sweetness and strength, has given you
force, courage, and power to combat all
that has come, and has enabled you to
possess your soul in patience. Indeed,
there is only one solution of pain : it is
the crucifix — it is God and eternity. Let

122 Auxilium Infirmorum

these be given up, and only darkness and
the abyss of despair remain ; but bring
them in, and, like the silver moon rising
on the waters, all is changed, and a land
comes in sight that flows with milk and
honey, where Jesus and Mary dwell,
where all breathes peace, where the
weaned are at rest. And so your heart
has dictated to you St. Philip Neri's
favourite words, and you have wished
to make them the summary of your
life : " God alone is my portion." All
must be for God, because all comes
from God. Hence there shall be no
wilful sin, and all pain shall be borne
in the spirit of Christ crucified ; duty
shall be welcomed, and self shall have
no part, but all shall be for God and for
God's children. Religion pure and un-
defiled shall be the robe and strength
of your life.

But wait. Does it follow that religion
is to be all sweet and smooth ? Is it
to be a mere saying of " Lord, Lord " ?
Oh no ; religion is a bugle-call to battle,

Religion Pure and Undefiled 123

a fitting-on of armour carefully made,
and made by our Lord, to be used as a
means to victory after many a fight.
Peace and rest are the result of a
campaign, not of a single contest. We
love to call our Lord Master, Brother,
Friend, and King, but let us not leave
out His title of Saviour. The other
names are more placid, and speak more
of peace, of docility, and the like ; but
we are soldiers and our life is a warfare,
if it be real life at all.

Hence, while on the one hand re
ligion is to be all in all to you, while
your heart loves and clings to those
words " God alone," while this world
lies vain and empty before your eyes,
and eternity alone has any reality, it is
at the same time an invitation to the
enemy for a very real and daily struggle,
for a hand-to-hand, desperate fight, which
will one day cease, but only with your
latest breath. No prayer will be left un
disturbed, no virtue will be acquired with
ease, no victory shall bring any great

124 Auxilium Infirmorum

measure of peace ; the very virtue you
love most will be the object of the most
vigorous assaults. By night and by day
they will come ; nothing exists but may
be turned and twisted into evil, till per
chance your very brain seems to give
way, and you feel as though you must
have yielded to temptation, or very soon
will do so, and as though you stood before
our dear Lord, whom you love, whom
you wish to serve in true innocence of
heart, as a stained and tarnished thing,
as a soldier that has not done his best,
with a blush of shame on your cheek,
and in your heart a feeling of disap
pointment, and a sort of consciousness of
guilt, with a knowledge of having tried,
yet ever with the uncertainty as to how
you really stand.

Then it is that confession will come
to your aid. Go to our Lord in humility,
to ask for pardon, to ask for renewed
strength. Go to our Lord with hope
and joy, for all is well; the time of
your illness has been a time well spent,

Religion Pure and Undefiled 125

and soon you will receive your Lord
in Holy Communion — by which the
union between your life and your faith
shall be more lovingly cemented than it
has ever been, in the strength of which
union you will live for ever, and pre
cisely because of which your life may
be so fruitful of good, and so sure to
be full of struggle and of victory.

May these lines come to your frighted
soul like our Lord came walking on the
waters to His disciples, at the fourth
watch of the night ; may your angel
guardian hold them before your eyes
while you read them. " My life, my
faith, and then my eternity, and the
bond that ties these together is my fight
beneath the Captain's eye."

Lord, I am ready and am not afraid ;
Thou art good, and Thou art true. With
Thy grace to aid me, I too will be good
and true, but let me never lose sight of
my weakness ; and when I feel I may
have swerved from Thee, let me hasten,
in all humility, to acknowledge it. This

126 Auxilium Infirmorum

shall be my rule till I meet Thee, face
to face in Thy kingdom.

XXIV
The Tomb of our Lord

(For Holy Communion)

LET us obey the summons of the angel to
the holy women on the first Easter day :
u Come and see the place where the Lord
was laid," that we too may learn a lesson.

Nature looked its best that morning.
The sun had risen, for the true Light of
the world had risen too, and He who had
become sin, who was despised and rejected
of men, has risen from the dead, having
finished the work His Father gave Him
to do. The clothes that bound the wounded
body of our Lord are there, and the angel
points with pride to the " place where the
Lord was laid," for death has no more
dominion over Him.

As we rejoice in the completeness of

The Tomb of our Lord 127

our Lord's victory, we learn the necessity
of completely crushing whatever is amiss,
of absolutely leaving the tomb or haunts
of sin. So long as the least affection
for it remains, so long as any bad habit
has life left in it, so long as our wills and
hearts are not completely turned from
sin in hatred and aversion, the place
where we were laid still knows us, and
our victory and resurrection are incom
plete.

The clothes or ties that bound us must be
cast aside, and our angel must be able to
point with pride to the empty tomb of sin,
which knew us once but now knows us
no more. The accomplishment of this
depends on our generosity and perse
verance, but it is in face of that epithet
" complete '' that we are inclined to draw
back and faint. Our sins shall be given
up " to a certain degree," but that is
ungenerous, and a fruitful source of back
sliding and loss of fervour. In the warfare
we merely wound our foe, whereas we
ought to slay him outright.

128 Auxilium Infirmorum

"Come and see the place where the
Lord was laid." Again our angel summons
us, and again let us gladly obey. Where
is the " place in which the Lord was
laid " ?

He is laid in our tabernacles, He is laid
in our hearts, in Holy Communion, as
often as He comes to be our guest. He
seeks rest there, and would find our hearts
u swept and garnished,'' ready for His
embrace, free of all He dislikes, as a
garden in which He can roam and smell
the odour of virtue. u Come, then, and
see the place where your Lord was laid."
What is its present state ? whom does it
love ? does it seek the things that are
Jesus Christ's, or does it seek its own ?

Of course our hearts can never be really
ready for Him, but at least the rugged
stems of honest endeavour, of patient,
daily grappling with our difficulties, should
be growing there, soon to blossom and
bear fruit. " Come, then, and see the place
where the Lord was laid." Come gladly,
not with fear, and drink in with honest

The Tomb of our Lord 129

gaze the real state of your hearts. See
what needs amendment, feeling confident
that you can do all things in Him who
strengthens you.

When a new church is opened, the old
building is often left standing for a time,
and on the opening day the visitors
compare the two with pride, and say :
" See where the Lord was laid," and u See
where now the Lord is laid." May your
angel find the old leaven purged out
and a new paste made, a new heart
opened, and may he say : " This my child
was dead, and is come to life again, was
lost and is found, and the place where
his Lord is laid is aglow with the
warmth of love of things of God, for his
heart is clean and well-ordered, he has
risen to a new life with Christ in God."

Let us remember that our Communions
are to us a pledge of our resurrection,
prefigured in the resurrection of our
Blessed Lord ; they must be made with
care, with clean hearts and fervent wills,
that when after death, our souls are in
10

130 Auxilium Infirmorum

God's presence, the angels may point to
them, washed in the Blood of the Lamb,
fed with heavenly manna, bright with the
light of glory, and may say : " See the
place where the Lord was laid."

XXV

The Crowning with Thorns

" My head acheth, My head acheth."

4 Kings iv. 19.

IN the predictions of His Sacred Passion,
there is one chief suffering of which our
Lord never spoke, namely, His being
crowned with thorns ; and the omission
is not a little remarkable. He foretold
that He would be mocked and spat upon,
that He would be scourged and crucified,
but never that He would be crowned
with thorns. The reason may be that
it was never ordered by authority. Cruel
as were His judges, they never bethought
themselves of anything so awful as this
punishment, which of itself would have

The Crowning with Thorns 131

caused death, and death very speedily,
had not our Lord, in love for us, prolonged
His life that He might suffer for us yet
more.

It was immediately after He had been
scourged till He was a worm and no man,
that this barbarous punishment was in
flicted. The soldiers had heard our Lord
spoken of as a King, and that title had
specially angered His enemies, and so
they made it their special theme for
sport. " He is a King, is He ? Then we
will deck Him out as one. See, here is
a cloak that is royal in its colour, and
here is a reed that will do for a sceptre ;
but where is the crown ? It is here :
press it on Him well, and let Him know
that He wears a crown and is a King
indeed ! " And so, with force and a
cruelty that defies description, they pierce
our Lord's sacred head with this cap of
painful thorns. The thorns would be as
long as a man's fore-finger, and found a
ready entrance into that aching head,
already so swollen and battered with

132 Auxilium Infirmorum

repeated blows. Try to picture the
scene to yourself, if you can : imagine
you are allowed to be present at it, and
are bidden report its history to our Lady,
who may not be by, though she would.

u The whole head is sick, the whole
heart is sad, dear Mother. Thy Son is
turned in His anguish whilst the thorns
are fastened : His head acheth, His head
acheth, and the blood flows fast, so that
His look is, as it were, hidden. Yet as
a lamb before his shearers, He opened
not His mouth."

Let us now consider some features of this
wondrous scene. And first, our Lord was
quite alone when He suffered this agoniz
ing pain, at the mercy of those who loathed
Him, and whose sport it was to make
Him surfer. He would not open His
mouth to plead for mercy ; there was not
one present who could do so for Him,
not one to ease the pain, or to wipe away
the blood that flowed in streams. There
is always a peculiar anguish in pain when
it is endured alone. Secondly, the punish-

The Crowning with Thorns 133

ment was one that would not be chiefly
observed. When brought before the
people, they would see the many ugly
marks of the scourges and their awful
effect, but no one, perhaps, would notice
the crown of thorns, or at any rate would
know how deep those thorns penetrated.
The crown of thorns had not been
ordered, like the scourging, and no one
was on the look-out to mark its results.
Pilate, when he had our Lord brought
forth, said, u I have scourged Him," but
he did not add : u My soldiers have
further crowned Him with cruel thorns,
which still He bears."

Again, it was a punishment that owed
its intensity not merely to its first in
fliction, but to its permanency. The
crown was not put on and taken off ; no,
it was pressed down securely, and worn
to the end ; or rather (and worse than
all), it was taken off many times — yes,
each time that the sacred clothes were
changed — and then brutally put on again,
and worn till death. And it was a punish-

134 Auxilium Infirmorum

meat that owed its anguish not to one
thorn, but to the whole number pressing
together ; it was this aggregate that was
so severe : u His head acheth, His head
acheth."

Lastly, and perhaps more than all, it
came on the top of so much that had
gone before. The long night of agony
and reproach, without sleep, or food, or
any repose, the many journeyings, the
countless blows, the disgusting spittings,
the mockery, the terrible scourging ; oh !
is it not enough and to spare ? No, there
must be more, and, like a lamb before
his shearers, He opened not His mouth !

Surely this scene draws us to our Lord,
and may it encourage us to learn its
lesson ! Indeed, there is perhaps no scene
in the Sacred Passion that applies to us
more, and to the sick especially, than this
one. We often speak of our cross as
though we shared mainly in the Cruci
fixion ; but should we not think first of
our thorns ? The little pricks of daily
life ! How sharply they prick ! how

The Crowning with Thorns 135

many they are ! and we have to bear
them alone, very often unobserved, and
hence without help or sympathy. Nobody
thinks much of them ; we have to bear
them for long months or even years,
without a change ; or perhaps they are
changed at times, but are soon driven
in again, and hurt the more. And they all
press together ; yes, they are a crown,
closely plaited, and meant to lead to a
crown, and they come on the top of
much else that is painful and irksome in
the way of life.

Give them their name : they are our
work, our companions, our pain ; they are
even Almighty God Himself, in His ways
of dealing with us, and in His demands
upon us ; they are above all ourselves,
our whims, our likes and dislikes, our
hasty dispositions, our inability to have
our own way. " We are turned in our
anguish, while these thorns are fastened ;
our head acheth, our head acheth ; the
whole head is sick, the whole heart is
sad."

136 Auxilium Infirmorum

Yet by these thorns we are meant
to acquire great merit and to do great
good. " Patience hath a perfecting
work " : let us learn that lesson from
our meditation. Oh, the vast stores
of merit that we have lost for ever,
through our wanton chafing beneath our
crown of thorns ! Oh, the harm we
have done to others, because we have
driven their thorns in the more deeply
in our irritation, because we had to
endure some pricks ourselves.

Let us follow our Lord, station by
station, along the road of the Cross,
and as we see Him fall three times,
and by the very falls drive in the
thorns more deeply into His sacred Head,
ask Him to give us more patience with
ourselves, more patience with others,
more patience beneath the gentle yoke
of Christ, that we may be filled with
the charity of Christ, which is patient,
which is kind, and in our patience may
possess the souls for which the Precious
Blood was shed !

Apparition at Sea of Tiberias 137

XXVI

The Apparition at the Sea of
Tiberias

WE owe the account of the apparition
of our Lord to His disciples at the Lake
of Tiberias to St. John, the beloved dis
ciple. St. Peter had said to the other
disciples : u I go a-fishing." a We also
come with thee," was the reply. a And
they went forth and entered into the
ship, and that night they caught nothing."
How eagerly the disciples, with St. Peter
as their leader, go forth to their ordinary
work ! They are not tired of it, though it
is their trade of many years standing, and
a hard life it is to be a fisherman, ex
posed to many dangers and disappoint
ments. They persevere in their toil, for
it is night, the best time for a plentiful
catch, but u that night they caught
nothing " !

We so often experience something

138 Auxilium Infirmorum

of this kind. We go a-fishing, full of
zeal and hope, cheered perhaps by kind
companions who share our toil. But
our work is checked, and seems to
bear no fruit ; we catch nothing ! The
night, too, seems long, and dark, and cold.
Surely our post is a hard one ; surely God
is asking too much from us, more than
we can give. Time after time we try,
and let down the net for a draught,
or at least for a few fish, but we catch
nothing. We can only say : u Master,
we have laboured all the night, and
have taken nothing." But is it what
we catch that our Lord looks to first ?
No, He values the labour expended first
and foremost. The catch is made some
where, for never yet were prayer and
pain offered to God without a grace
descending, nor ever shall be. But let
every one that would serve God remember
that results are nothing. It is our per
severing effort alone that our Lord
values, and it is He that giveth the in
crease,

Apparition at Sea of Tiberias 139

So "when the morning was come,
Jesus stood on the shore," and ordered
a cast to be made on the right side of
the ship ; " and now they were not able
to draw the net for the multitude of
fishes/' What a picture is here given us !
It is the end of the long night of labour
and pain ; the sun has risen, the morning
is come, and Jesus stands on the shore
of eternity, to welcome and reward those
who toiled through the long night and
seemed to take nothing. This is for us
as well as for other disciples ; the long
and fruitless night must end, and in the
bright morning of the day of eternity
" Jesus stands on the shore, and His
reward is with Him," and we shall say,
" It was the Lord : the Lord was in that
place all the time, yet I seemed not to
know it." Thus it is that the sick may
sow in tears, but shall surely reap in
joy.

140 Auxilium Infirmorum

XXVII
The Visits of our Lord

BEHOLD, He stands at the door and
knocks, for our Lord has thought of us,
and has come of His own accord to pay
us a visit. "There is some one at the
door," and we know it ; let us hasten to
let Him in, that He stay not outside in
the cold.

But why does our Lord stand there at
all ? Why does He not walk in ? Are
we not His own, and is He not our Shep
herd and we His sheep, bought with great
price ? Yes, but still we are free ; our
wills are our own, and the King's friends
are all volunteers. Our Lord must appeal
to us, and invite us. "The voice of my
beloved knocking: open to me, My sister,
My love, My clove, for My head is full
of dew." He knocks, sometimes loudly,
sometimes softly ; sometimes by sending
trials and sorrows, sometimes by books,

The Visits of our Lord 141

or a stray remark in a sermon or con
versation, sometimes by recalling the
truths of our faith, the facts of life and
eternity ; but still He is always. knocking,
His grace coming to rouse and support
us. Do we answer : u Come in ! " or
u Not at home " ? When we knock, we
expect to be heard, and speedily, but our
Lord must often wait !

We know well how unpleasant it is to
be kept waiting on a doorstep ; we tug
the bell, and knock the knocker hard, and
often we hear sound within and know
our friends are at home, but at length
we are told they are not at home ! Not
at home to us ! Yet our Lord never seems
to grow weary, never says, " I have been
here so long, and now I go, to return no
more."

" If any man shall hear My voice and
open to Me the door, I will come in to
him ; I will come and heal him, I will
come and sup with him, and he with Me."
Let us rise up to open to our Beloved.
Yet when doors have long been unused,

142 Auxilium Infirmorum

they stick, and are opened but gradually
and with difficulty. So it may be with
us, if for long we have kept our Lord out
side, if we have closed the door and kept
feast with ourselves, entertaining our pas
sions, entertaining the spirit of the world.
It will then take time to open the door to
the full, and will require both perseverance
and energy. But be not affrighted, for
through the crevice we shall see the
Master, and hear His voice, and meet
His smile, as He says : u Make haste, for
to-day I must abide in thy house. Open
to Me, my beloved, for My head is full of
dew. Behold My heart that has so loved
men, that has so loved you."

And soon a supper is made. Yes, it is
the evening meal, for in a sense we are all
at the evening of life, seeing that at any
moment the one clear call may come, and
our prayer must be: uStay with us, Lord,
for the day is far spent." At once our
Lord is at home with us, and makes us
feel at home with Him. We have little
to offer Him, but we may offer the tears

The Visits 01 our Lord 143

of our contrition for His drink, and our
good purposes for His meat, and He is
pleased. He has brought us a white
robe of innocence in which to feed with
Him, and His provision for us is that
sweet food we call peace of heart, the
friendship of God, to be crowned by the
bread of angels, a true foretaste of our
joy in our home hereafter.

Such is our Lord's conduct to our souls.
To-day, then, if you shall hear His knock,
harden not your heart, for now is the
acceptable time. Open to Him, welcome
Him, that He be your Saviour, not your
Judge. The day is fast coming when
that constant and thoughtful Friend will
knock for the last time ; it will be the
" dire summons at our door " to leave
this world for the next. It should be
a passage from a vale of tears to the
vision of the fruit of Mary's womb. To
all previous knocks we may have turned
a deaf ear, but that one we shall hear ;
all previous knocks we may have dis
obeyed, but that one we must obey.

144 Auxilium Infirmorum

Let our loins then be girt, and our lamps
burning brightly ; they will be so, if we
have been attentive to the visits of our
Lord in this life. He will have been our
constant guest in life, we shall be His
guests and courtiers in eternity.

XXVIII
Sunday without Mass

SUNDAY is called the Lord's Day, for it
is the special day on which God should be
praised by His creatures. Let His Will
be done at least on Sunday, and that
Will is to receive sacrifice from His
children. This morning the bells of the
Christian world rang out a merry peal, to
invite all the faithful to praise the Lord
and offer gifts to His Name. Were
those bells lost to you ? Could you say,
u They have no message for me ; I cannot
offer the great Sacrifice to-day, for the sick
are debarred from that ? " Oh no ; you

Sunday without Mass 145

can go in spirit to Mass to-day ; you can
be present with all who bear the name
of Christian, and your sacrifice shall be
embalmed and sweetened by many a
welcome ingredient. Obedience is there,
and glad submission too ; a little pain
will enter in, and a cheerful giving up of
self, most welcome to a Father "who
loves a cheerful giver."

A blow which we expect gives less pain
than one that is unexpected ; and a sacri
fice which we know will be asked of us,
as a rule costs less than one which we
had not anticipated, though, if well made,
it loses none of its merit in consequence.
You knew well last night that to-day our
Lord would ask you to please Him by
giving up Mass and Benediction, by
staying in your room all day.

And in the early -hours of to-day, you
made that sacrifice ; it cost you a great
deal, but you made it gladly, from the
heart as to the Lord, and into your mouth
we may put these words of the Psalmist :
u I have lifted up my hands to Thy com-
ii

146 Auxilium Infirmorum

mandments, O Lord, which I love : and I
have been exercised in Thy justifications.'
This will prove the history of to-day ;
with your hands you grasped the law of
God this morning, and you are being exer
cised, trained, and moulded by it all day,
while God has been making you u just,"
that is holy, more ready for Himself, and
such a day cannot be a day lost.

Indeed, no Sunday is a blank day for the
sick. It is on Sunday especially that we
offer sacrifice to God : so do the sick as
much as any one on the face of the earth.
They are present in spirit at Holy Mass ;
they can make a spiritual Communion ;
they receive our Lord's blessing, and offer
to Him all the pain and disappointment of
the day — a noble offering gladly made,
most welcome to the King. Our Lord
wished you could have been at Mass
to-day, as much as you wished it your
self, but He wished you more not to be at
Mass to-day, and you gladly acquiesced
in this desire of His Sacred Heart. Why
He so wished it, you do not know, but

Sunday without Mass 147

you may trust Him to have had a good
reason. What He does, you know not
now, but you shall know hereafter ; and
you may trust Him to give you a blessing,
both now and in eternity, for the sacrifice
you made to Him this morning.

Nevertheless, a Sunday without Mass,
without Benediction, is always a trying
day to the sick. The music of the Gloria
in excelsis is enough to drive away many
a cloud, but this you have not heard, nor
have you knelt with other courtiers around
the throne of the great King, and seen
the Lamb of God " as it were slain "
on behalf of the sins and needs of men.
Yet your day may have been as fruit
ful, possibly more so, as that of many
who have been able to be present at
everything. A sacrifice was asked of you,
and you made it both fully and cheer
fully ; you made a virtue of necessity
and offered all your pain and disappoint
ment to our Lord, and it came from a
contrite and humbled heart, which He
can never despise.

148 Auxilium Infirmorum

XXIX
On the Bridge

IN the worst storms at sea, when the out
look is truly appalling, and the question in
every mouth is u Will she pull through it ? "
the captain stands on the bridge, giving
orders, cool and calm, yet does not do the
work himself. Others do the work, yet
when the storm is over and the ship has
reached the port, the credit is given in
chief measure, and rightly so, to the
captain, who stood still on the bridge and
thus braved the winds and waves. A
storm is now passing over you, a heavy
cloud, and you wish to be busy and active,
as one of the crew ; but our Lord says
you are the captain of the ship, and bids
you mount the bridge, there to stand cool
and calm, apparently inactive, yet effect
ing in reality great things. You would do
much to help others, but it is your duty to
confine yourself cheerfully to the bridge,

The Better Part 149

and never to go on deck. From the
bridge you can pray, and offer the sacri
fice of your will to the higher will of our
Divine Lord ; from the bridge you can
cheer all on the deck by your words of
sympathy and by your patient charity, and
thence you can invoke our Lady, Star of
the Sea, to be a mother and a refuge to all.
The storm may not be a long one, but
every hour of it is fraught with oppor
tunity and merit. Gather it all, and win
your laurels to the full, but win them on
the bridge. It is hard for you to kick
against the goad, but bend your will to
that of our Lord, though it be pain to do
so, and say often in the day, " Father, not
my will, but Thine be done."

XXX

The Better Part

ONE drop of the Precious Blood of our
Lord was enough to redeem the world,

150 Auxilium Infirmorum

yet it was shed to its last drop for us.
Why is our Lord thus " a man of sorrows,"
nay, " a worm and no man," not content
till the last drop is shed ? It is to con
vince us that He really loved us, a proof
of the generosity of His love for us.
Did He not say in praise of St. Mary
Magdalen : " She has chosen the better
part " ? A good part would do, but, like
our Lord, noble souls ever choose the
better. Generosity must be met with
generosity. God must have the best we
can give, and what we give, we must give
in the very best way. This is our right
principle, and the sick have many a chance
of choosing, with a choice of love and pre
ference, this better part.

It is a principle that guides us also
in temptation to sin, for generous souls
always keep well on the safe side, crush
ing the very beginnings of evil, with no
thought of self, only desirous to be very
near to God and to maintain the spotless
whiteness of the soul. And how richly
does it aid us at times of sacrifice also,

A Night Thought 151

when God seeks for something at our
hands ! Then we must give Him all He
wants, and give it gladly, almost pressing
it upon Him, though it costs us much.
This is the better part, and often it
comes your way ! It is hard to human
nature, but beautiful in the light of faith,
sweet to a heart that is generous with
our Lord. Let this standard ever be
yours !

XXXI
A Night Thought

JUST beyond the reach of our senses, there
is the great world of spirits, into which
one day we shall be ushered, when we
have shuffled off this mortal coil. God
reigns there, and surveys His creation, over
which He has placed His angels to be its
guardians. They ascend and they descend :
they ascend to bear our prayers to the
throne of God, they descend to bring us

152 Auxilium Infirmorum

graces and lights, and in their hands they
bear us up, for they have charge of us,
lest we dash our foot against a stone.

All through the long hours of to-day,
God and His angels have been very near
to you ; they have seen all, and have noted
every pain, and in their hands you have
been borne all day. Had you rebelled,
had you murmured against your lot, had
you not at least tried to give glory to God
through the gloom of the day, the gentle
hold of the angels must have given way,
and you would have clashed your foot
against a stone, and would now be lame,
and unable to walk to-morrow in the way
of God's law. But as it is, you are not
even foot-sore, and to-morrow you will
walk, as you have walked to-day, onward,
to the Mount of God, to the better land
that flows with milk and honey, your feet
shod with the preparation of the gospel of
peace. Onward, Christian soldier ! Jesus
bids us fight for God and the right, and
for Mary, the Queen of Heaven.

The Holy Name 153

XXXII
The Holy Name

OUR Lord submitted to the rite of cir
cumcision without any necessity, for He
was sinless, even as our Lady later on sub
mitted, though without necessity, to her
purification, that both the Son and the
Mother might teach us obedience to law
and true humility. Circumcision was the
rite by which every male Jew entered into
the covenant of God with Abraham, and
became a partaker in its privileges and
blessings. It was a Sacrament of the Old
Law, corresponding in its work and place
to Baptism in the New. It was a law im
posed on the Jews under penalty of ex
clusion from the people of God, and was
usually performed at home.

In our Lord's case, it was probably per
formed in the cave of Bethlehem, and very
likely by the hands of either our Lady or
St. Joseph. The Precious Blood thus

154 Auxilium Infirmorum

flowed for the first time before Mary's
eyes; enough, and more than enough, was
shed to redeem the world, but it was not
shed for that purpose. The drops that
then flowed were a pledge of all that was
to follow in the Passion and on the Cross.
" Our Lord," as Peter of Blois says, " who
was to work salvation in the midst of the
earth for thirty years, from His very cradle,
from His mother's breast, began the busi
ness of our salvation, and tasted the first-
fruits of His Passion."

It is interesting and instructive to
note that on the Feast of the Circum
cision in past centuries, two Masses
were assigned, one of the Feast, and
one of our Lady. At Christmas, we
cannot speak much of our Lady, for our
thoughts and words are all centred in our
Lord ; but on the octave of Christmas, we
show forth the part that Mary played in
the Incarnation, and though two Masses
are no longer assigned, the one that is
said abounds in references to her, and the
Vesper Psalms of the Feast are those of

The Holy Name 155

our Lady. And thus we think of the
Mother and the Child, and contemplate
her face so lit with smiles, her heart re
joicing in God her Saviour, as she discloses
the name her Child is to bear.

She had heard that name from St.
Gabriel, but has kept it, pondering over it
in her heart, and now she reveals it. It is
a Name that is above every name, the one
by which men shall be drawn to God, and
the name by which every child of Mary
shall be known. If his name be not Jesus,
he is none of hers. How is this ?

Our Catholic forefathers hesitated to
give the name of Mary to their children,
out of reverence, and because they knew
those children could never resemble their
Mother to the full. But, though the name
of Mary is now, and rightly, given to
almost every Catholic child, the name of
Jesus is never given ; yet every one of us
should bear the Name in spirit, and should
lead a life such that it may be summed
up in that adorable Name, a life such
that at the sight of it the angels rejoice,

156 Auxilium Infirmorum

the devils tremble and fly, and men are
moved to imitation.

What name do we bear ? The first is
the name of Christ, for we are Christians.
But that name was given to us ; we had
not to acquire it, or to work for it. It
sums up what God has done for us, not
what we have done for God. It tells
us of God's visiting His people, of His
speaking to them by the mouth of His
only Son, of that Son's work on our
behalf, of the good things of the Lord,
of the gifts of the Master, of the promise
of eternal life, of the kingdom of light
and peace to which we are called. But
the name of Jesus must be ours also.
" Freely you have received, freely give."
Much has been done for us, and we must
do something in return ; we must bear
the office and spirit of the Holy Name of
Jesus, which means Saviour. We must
be the saviours of one another, healing
the wounds of one another, bearing one
another's burdens, and we shall in our
measure be worthy not only of the name

The Holy Name 157

of Christ, the anointed of the Lord, but
also of the name of Jesus Saviour, who
went about doing good.

How are we to heal others ? First, by
keeping in good spiritual health ourselves,
else we be told : " Physician, heal thyself ! "
By lives of regularity, by regular prayer,
and regular sacraments ; by lives that
keep ever in touch with God, that look to
God, that are spent in His presence, and
are filled with work done for His cause.
Thus shall we spread the light of truth,
and make the force of good example felt ;
thus shall we make a protest against the
disease of sin, and reparation to the Sacred
Heart.

And in our active work for others, how
shall we heal their wounds ? By kind
ness ; by always being kind — kind in
word, kind in thought, kind in deed ;
never speaking scandal, never picking
holes, covering every wound and failing
with the clean linen of charity, that the
heart of mankind may beat less heavily,
that the world of men may rejoice more

158 Auxilium Infirmorum

fully in God its Saviour, who bore the
name of Jesus, and wished the spirit of
that name to be uppermost in the lives of
all. Each one may ask himself : Is my
life spiritually healthy and sound, vigorous
and regular ? Do I go about doing good
by the sweet apostolate of kindness, or do
I, by want of charity, open wide and make
to bleed afresh the wounds of my neigh
bour ?

" My Lord, from this day I take up
my cross and follow Thee — I will look
back no more. Help me to observe Thy
new commandment, to love my neigh
bour as Thou hast loved me."

XXXIII
The Sorrows of our Lady

WE have often heard it said, and by
experience we probably know that it is
true, that the pains of the mind are far
keener than those of the body. Pain of
the body may be, and often is, most

The Sorrows of our Lady 159

terrible, but it can usually be eased by
medicines and other curatives, and in any
case it cannot last very long, for it must
needs kill the body that has to endure it.
But pain of the mind may be terribly
severe, and it is not possible to relieve or
to cure it ; nay, often it remains unknown
to all except the sufferer, and it may last
for years, and take countless shapes.
Moreover, we must remember that the
nobler and the more pure a creature is,
the more intensely does that creature
feel and realize the pain. Give the same
blow to a man and to a beast, and the
man will feel the blow the more keenly,
because his nature is so much more
noble. Hence no one ever felt pain,
whether of the body or of the mind, like
our Blessed Lord ; and next to Him,
no one ever felt pain like our Blessed
Lady, the lily among thorns. She suffered
a martyrdom great as the sea, in order to
be like her Son in all things, and, in
the designs of Divine Providence, that
she might be a fitting mother for each of

160 Auxilium Infirmorum

us ; for we are drawn to our Lady the
more intimately because she stood by the
Cross and suffered, even as we are drawn
to our Lord the more passionately because
He loved us and delivered Himself for us.

Our Lady suffered only in her soul. No
rude blow or cruel thorn was ever allowed
to touch that virginal flesh, from whose
blood our Lord had drawn His very life.
But a sword was to thrust itself through
her soul, that out of many hearts thoughts
might be revealed. Let us try to under
stand her sorrows, that out of our poor,
stony hearts some thoughts may be let
loose that may both comfort and guide us.
Let us pass rapidly through each scene
of the wondrous drama of her Dolours.

And first, our Lady is at the Temple
in Jerusalem, a spot she loves — a spot
she knows so well. She has gone a
journey with her Babe in her arms,
singing the old Gradual Psalms of the
pilgrims, as the hills of God's city came
in view. She rejoiced at the things that
were said to her, she would go to the

The Sorrows of our Lady 161

house of the Lord ; she lifted her eyes to
the mountains whence help should come
to her ; and forthwith a revelation awaits
her, of which perchance she had at least
a suspicion, a revelation that lights up for
her all prophecy concerning her Child,
and tells her the lines on which God's
redeeming work would be effected. The
Cross of Calvary is clearly shown in
Simeon's words, and the desolation of
Gethsemane is foretold to her, for her
Saviour is set for the fall and for the
resurrection of many, and her own soul a
sword shall pierce.

Yes, if Jesus is not to reign in every
heart, He must needs suffer ; and if He
suffers, Mary must suffer too, and Simeon's
words do but express, as far as human
language can, the extent of her pains.

What thought is here revealed ? what
pain is here spoken of ? It is the pain
which souls experience when they first
realize and bring home to themselves that
they must suffer with our Lord, if they
would hope ever to reign with Him.
12

162 Auxilium Infirmorum

This is a pain indeed, and the mother of
many more. We would like the lines
from earth to heaven to be laid differently ;
we would fain have the service of God to
be easier, more free from strife, not so
stamped from first to last with the Cross.
And hence it is that many go away, many
never start at all, many turn back, and all
for the want of Mary's generosity. But
her sanctity took fresh shape, and soared
aloft on wings of love at the breath of
Simeon's words ; she embraced the Cross,
and pressed her suffering Child to her
breast more closely, as she said to herself :
" I must suffer with Him, and I shall reign
with Him." Let us do the same ; launch
out into the deep, and be generous to our
Lord.

Pass on to the second dolour, the flight
into Egypt, and picture that Holy Family
driven away into exile by a long road to a
heathen land, in the darkness and cold of
the night. What pain is here disclosed ?
First it is the pain of change. The little
home at Bethlehem must be broken up,

The Sorrows of our Lady 163

and a new one sought for far away. Fresh
plans must be made — a new beginning
altogether, just when things were so
peaceful and undisturbed. And it came
so suddenly, too, yet not one word of
complaint, only a prompt and trustful
obedience. Many of us, especially the
sick, must have felt this, when the old
order changes and gives place to new.
It was for our good, but we felt it keenly.
How have we faced the call that God
sent us ?

But more. Our Lady then felt one of
our keenest pains — the pain of being mis
understood, misreported, misrepresented.
Kind deeds are given a sinister, wrong
interpretation, and things untrue and dis
torted are laid at our door. So it was in
this dolour of our Lady. She had to flee
away, and her old home never knew her
again. Even so we must flee away from
old hearts and affections that once knew
and cheered us on, and we never are
enthroned there again. She was hunted
away from home because, forsooth, evil

164 Auxilium Infirmorum

men believed her Son was to be a king,
and to oust other kings from their throne.
It was nothing of the kind ; His kingdom
was not of this world ; He would disturb
no one, nor deprive them of their riches.
But that was said and believed ; gossips
and busybodies circulated it keenly, and
hence Mary suffered.

We pass on to the third scene of
sorrow, the loss of our Lord for three
long days. Let us try to imagine the
anguish of our Lady during those two
nights and one long day, looking for
her Child, and asking for Him on all
sides, but finding no trace of Him. He
had been entrusted to her, and she was,
as it were, responsible for Him.

What is our thought here ? what pain
is this ? It is the pain of seeing our work
yield no fruit — a special pain of the sick.
We have tried very hard, and have done
our best ; we have made sacrifices for
what God asked of us ; no labour has
been spared, and we have clung to out
post for perhaps twelve years, as Mary

The Sorrows of our Lady 165

had clung to our Lord — perhaps for even
more. And at the end we have lost all,
and have nothing to show. Oh, this is
hard for flesh and blood, but it is the
pain of Jesus dying in desolation on
Calvary, it is the pain of Mary at the
three days of loss. Let us take heart ;
no work for God is really lost, but, when
it seems to be at its worst, let us be the
more diligent, and seek and find our Lord
in the Temple, in the Sacrament of His
love.

And what of the fourth sorrow of
our Blessed Mother — the meeting Jesus
with His Cross ? It was one which in a
way she might have spared herself, yet
how fitting that these two, the Mother
and the Son, should meet on the way, and
go together to the holy hill ? No words
can describe that scene, when our Lord,
crushed by His heavy Cross, and clothed
in a robe of wounds and bruises, met His
Mother. What is our thought here ?
what pain is this ?

It is first of all the pain of being

166 Auxilium Infirmorum

useless — of seeing a true, kind friend
suffer, and being unable to do anything
to assuage the pain — a feeling that calls
for resignation indeed, and an earnest
prayer to God that He at least would
help, and so direct what is taking place
that it may lead to good. It is, more
over, the pain of longing to get near to
our Lord, and of not being able to do
so. It is the pain of those who suffer
from dryness at prayer, from a disrelish
for the work obviously given them by God
to do ; nay, even from a want of sweetness
and comfort at confession and holy Com
munion. The look of our Lord is hidden,
and we do not seem to recognize Him.
Our Lady suffered thus ; she could not
recognize Him, but the eyes of her faith
pierced that disfiguring veil of blood, and
it was the same sweet Child of Nazareth,
who, for our sakes and for Mary's sake,
refrained from resting His aching head
on His Mother's bosom. Our Lady only
said "Fiat" : what do we say? Do we
understand that at those times we are, as

The Sorrows of our Lady 167

it were, meeting our Lord with His Cross,
and that if He hides Himself, it is only
for our good ? His eyes are filled with
blood in love for us, so that we cannot
recognize Him, yet it is Jesus Christ, the
same, yesterday, to-day, and for ever.

And now Calvary has been reached, and
our Lord is stripped of His clothes, and laid
on His bed of death ; the fifth dolour has
begun, and for three hours Mary stands
by the Cross of our Lord, true to the end.
It is the end of three-and-thirty years, and
what will the future be ? Have we ever
knelt by the death-bed of one dear to us,
perhaps in the still and solemn night, and
seen life slowly pass away ? What pain
is this ? It is the pain of the parting of
friends ; and who ever felt it like our
Lady ? Life has changed, the world can
never be the same again, and the future
must be faced without the old props,
without the old faces to cheer, or the old
associations to comfort.

At the foot of the Cross another thrust
of the sword must pass through Mary's

i68 Auxilium Infirmorum

soul, as the lifeless body of her Son is laid
in her arms, and she learns that in very
truth from the crown of His head to the
soles of His feet there is no soundness in
Him, wounds and swelling sores that are
not bound up nor fomented with oil, and
now it is too late to do so.

What is this pain ? It is the pain of the
thought of brighter days that once were
ours, but now seem to have gone, and gone
for ever. It is the pain which many souls
feel, namely, that in the days gone by
they were more fervent, and loved our
Lord more, and made greater progress in
His service ; but now somehow they have
gone back, and old, fervent resolves no
longer set their will aflame. Our Lady
felt this as she surveyed those wounded
limbs. They were not always so ; and
they shall not always be so ; nor shall
our hours of disconsolateness last for
ever, but the sun will shine again, and
darkness be dispelled.

Lastly, there is the burial of our Lord,
preceded by the last look at His sweet

The Sorrows of our Lady 169

face, and then all is over, and Jesus is
carried out to burial, the only Son of His
mother, and she was a widow. What is
our thought here ? what is this pain ? It
is the pain of being alone, often coupled
with the pain of not being wanted. Oh,
how hard this is to bear and to master !
Our Lady bore it, and mastered it too,
yes, and how ? In her own strong and
beautiful way — the way for us, her
children, also. What is it ? By forgetting
self, and thinking only of others ! By
trying to be kind in any and every way
possible to us ! This is our Lady's secret,
and her master-touch ! Go to that upper
room at Jerusalem on the first Good
Friday night, and meet there the company
of the apostles and disciples. Who is
the life of that little community ? It is
our Lady. She forgets herself ; she blesses
Peter as he kneels to confess his guilt ;
she consoles Magdalen as she kisses the
Mother's feet, for she can no longer kiss
those of the Son ; she comforts all, and
encourages all, and prays for all. This is

170 Auxilium Infirmorum

a charity which the floods of grief cannot
drown, which many waters cannot quench.
And there is our lesson, if we are wise and
true children of our Lady.

" O all ye that pass by the way, stay
and see if there be any sorrow like unto
mine." So it is our Lady calls us. We
indeed only " pass " by the way of the
Cross, and in comparison with our Lady
we do but touch it, as with our finger
tips ; but she " stayed " upon it, from
Simeon's prophecy to the end, and for
a long fifteen years after Calvary had
been left. She was then the Mother of
sinners, able to teach them what she had
so practised, as the sword went through
her soul.

May these thoughts help a little, by
God's grace, to make us tread life's way
with bolder, gladder step, hard though it
may be ; let us recognize humbly that the
roughness and hardness of life's road is
not God's work, but the work of cruel,
repeated sin, and that whatever moisture
comes to allay its dust, is the dew of God's

Words on Prayer 171

forgiving love. So let us learn the true
meaning of our pains, and bear them
better and more fruitfully, in close union
with the Sacred Passion of our Lord and
the sorrows of our Immaculate Mother.

XXXIV
Words on Prayer

" He ever lives to make intercession for us."

(Heb. vii. 25.)

WHAT a picture of our Lord is given
to us in these words, showing forth His
constant thought for us, His interest in
us, His power on our behalf ! " Always
living to make intercession for us" !
The one occupation of His Sacred Heart
in the heavens above, in our tabernacles
on earth, is to stand between us and His
heavenly Father, as " mediator," screen
ing us from the anger we so justly
deserve, bringing down blessings for us,
making intercession for us in His own

172 Auxilium Infirmorum

words from the Cross : " Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they
do."

Such was His occupation at Bethlehem,
and on the mountains when He passed
the night in prayer ; such, too, on the
Cross, in the Blessed Sacrament, and now
in heaven. So that we are a rooted
and built up in Him," depending upon
Him, and He so faithful u not to leave
us orphans" — nay u always living to make
intercession for us." How little we think
of how near our Lord is to each of us !
We are called to be citizens of a heavenly
country, and we are almost there already,
in sight of its inmates, who pray for us,
and always under the eye of our Lord
u who ever lives to make intercession
for us.''

But there are few that come to the
solemn feast, and our power of making
intercession is not used, and the interests
of Jesus suffer in consequence.

When Moses with the people of Israel
fought against Amalec, he " stood on the

Words on Prayer 173

top of the hill, having the rod of God in
his hand. And when Moses lifted up his
hands, Israel overcame ; but if he let
them down a little, Amalec overcame."
Even so does our Lord plead for us with
His sacred hands " on the hill, with the
rod or the power of God," and Israel
gains the day. But " the hands of Moses
were heavy, and Aaron and Hur stayed
up his hands on both sides. And it came
to pass that his hands were not weary
till sunset." Even so must we stay up
our Lord's hands, and " they will not
grow weary until sunset," until the
end.

How is it that we so little use our
power of intercessory prayer ? We
should surely pray for what our Lord
holds so dear and so ardently longs for —
the conversion of sinners, the good deaths
of all, the liberty and exaltation of the
Church, the spread of the faith, the
increase of vocations, peace among
nations, and the like. These are the
interests of Jesus ; for u these He ever

174 Auxilium Infirmorum

lives to make intercession," yet looks to
us to support His hands. " Oh, the un
fathomable sweetness of this mystery of
prayer ! One of the ends for which
we came into the world was to make
intercession. One of the ends for which
our Blessed Saviour shed His Precious
Blood was that we might be able to make
acceptable and efficacious intercession.
Let us, then, betake ourselves to inter
cession, as if it were our trade."

At Mass, at Benediction, at Visits to
the Blessed Sacrament, in our prayers
generally, in talking with our Lady and
St. Joseph, let us pray and intercede for
what we need, for what others need, for
what the Church needs, for what the
world needs. To a certain extent we
shall be acting in the dark, not seeing the
result and fruit of our prayers ; but we
know that all prayer is answered in God's
good time, in God's good way.

Thus will our sphere of usefulness
and influence for good be widened
greatly.

Words on Prayer 175

" What mean these days of withered prayer,

Of dead, unflowering praise ?
Wake, wake me, Lord ! Arouse me. Let Thy fire

Loosen these icicles and make them drop
And run into warm tears ; for I aspire

To hold Thee faster, dearer, warmer, nigher,
And love and serve Thee henceforth without
stop ! "

Holy Scripture speaks of our prayers
as of incense rising from the earth to the
throne of God. " And an angel came
and stood before the altar, having a
golden censer : and there was given to
him much incense, that he should offer
the prayers of saints upon the golden
altar, which is before the throne of
God. And the smoke of the incense
of the prayers of the saints ascended
up before God from the hand of the
angel ! "

The path of prayer is the King's high
way from earth to heaven. This royal
path leads the soul into the Eternal
Presence, there to plead her cause with

176 Auxilium Infirmorum

her Creator, there to converse, in the
humble spirit of child-like affection, with
her heavenly Father, there to receive His
good and perfect gifts. It was opened
for us by our Lord Jesus Christ, was
consecrated by His prayers and suffer
ings, was illuminated by His Ascension
into heaven. In a word, prayer is the
commerce of the soul with God through
Jesus Christ in the supreme affair of
our salvation and perfection, u I am
the Way, and the Truth, and the Life:
no one cometh to the Father but by
Me."

Our Lord has shown us how to pray,
and has insisted on the necessity of pray
ing often. He has emphasized God's
willingness to hear our prayers, so that
prayer is the food of the soul, the
medicine for all troubles, the bond of
union by which we are kept in touch
with the whole court of heaven. "Weep
ing, thou shalt not weep, for at the voice
of thy cry, as soon as He shall hear, the
Lord will answer thee."

Words on Prayer 177

Now there is one form of prayer — easy,
delightful, and effective — strongly recom
mended, yet much and strangely neglected.
It is Ejaculatory Prayer. What does an
ejaculation show ? The answer to this
question shows why it is so pleasing to
God. It shows that we are conscious of
a sense of our weakness and insufficiency,
of our proneness to evil, and of utter
dependence upon God.

An ejaculation is a very act of humility,
the spontaneous cry of the soul for help
in its hour of need, and " the prayer
of him that humbleth himself shall pierce
the clouds." It is, moreover, an act
of confidence in His readiness at any
time to help us. It is an act of faith
in God's nearness to us, in His constant
and loving supervision of us, in the
fact that He sees us always, and knows
our most secret thoughts. u Cry to Me,
and I will hear thee ; call upon Me in the
day of trouble, for I am nigh unto all them
that call upon Me. In what hour soever
I shall call upon Thee, behold I know
13

178 Auxilium Infirmorum

Thou art my God." Our conversation is
in heaven, says St. Paul ; our heavenly
Father, our blessed Mother, the angels
and saints are all around us, and by the
aspirations of our hearts we profess our
faith in this. Lastly, an ejaculation is
an assertion of the value of a pure
soul, of the hideousness of sin, of the
desire to overcome the temptation that
then besets us, an assertion of the need
of grace and help, else we fall. a The
Lord will be entreated in favour of
His servants ; pray, then, to the Most
High that He may direct thy way in
truth."

Consider further the advantages of
Ejaculatory Prayers. They are so short,
and are consequently free from distrac
tions ; they are richly indulgenced, and
thus bear the Church's special blessing
and approval ; and they fill our lives with
prayer. They keep us in God's presence
and prevent our having any idle moments,
but rather make our whole lives into acts
of praise.

Words on Prayer 179

An ejaculation interrupts no duty ; we
have even time for an ejaculation while
dipping our pen into the ink. Wherefore,
while walking in the streets, while going
up and downstairs, while at our work, let
constant ejaculations, bearing on their
wings the sweet names of Jesus and Mary,
escape our lips, and like caged birds that
have gained their freedom, they will fly
home — and return with a speedy answer.

The holy name of Jesus is the best of all
ejaculatory prayers, and should constantly
be on our lips. As oil poured out on the
troubled waters of our soul, it brings re
freshment, strength, and calm. It is the
name which Mary first uttered with such
tenderness and delight ; the name which
St. Joseph spoke with such reverence and
devotion ; the name at which u every
knee in heaven, on earth, and under the
earth doth bow," a name of sweetness to
hearts that droop, a name of meaning
to hearts that believe, a name of power
to hearts that are in danger, a name of
comfort and hope to those in pain.

180 Auxilium Infirmorum

<( I shot an arrow into the air ...
I breathed a song into the air ...
Long, long afterwards, in an oak
I found the arrow still unbroke.
And the song from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend."

This gift of prayer, of being able to
hold constant and sweet intercourse with
God, this marvellous power by which the
treasures of divine grace are poured
abroad, this golden key by which the
flood-gates of divine mercy are unlocked,
is ours, our very own, our dignity, our
joy, our source of strength and hope,
through Jesus Christ, by whom we are
"sons" of God, and dare to cry, "Abba,
Father."

How is it that prayer is not more to us
than it is ? more sweet, more attractive,
more satisfying ? Is it not because (among
other reasons) we begin to pray u with
sadness, or of necessity," whereas " God
loveth a cheerful giver " ? So to begin is
to court failure, to maintain a disrelish
for this holy exercise, and to cramp its

Words on Prayer 181

effect. "Give glory to God with a good
heart, and diminish not the firstfruits of
thy hands. In every gift show a cheerful
countenance, and sanctify thy tithes with
joy.-

Assuredly to begin to pray as though
it were a task, to enter this holy exercise
like idle scholars approach their books,
" with sadness or of necessity," feeling it
irksome all the time, glad when it is over,
like idle scholars released from school, is
indeed to ruin it, to sap its sweetness and
its strength, to make it a sorry failure.
Whereas to approach our prayer with
joy, as the hart pants after the fountains
of water, rejoicing like a giant to run our
way, like zealous scholars who wish to
learn, feeling proud and privileged to
speak to God, looking forward to the
opportunity of enriching our souls and
laying up treasure in heaven — this is the
secret of success in prayer. " Give glory
to God with a good heart."

The number of times the royal Psalmist
uses the phrase "/'« toto corde meo" ("with

182 Auxilium Infirmorum

my whole heart "), is very striking, and
he bases his doing so on the marvels of
divine power as revealed in creation, on
God's goodness to him, on the wish, as it
were, to rival the saints, in whose presence
and company we pray, and on the infinite
perfections of God.

We have the same four grounds, and
fresh reasons also embraced by these
four headings, for praying u with our
whole heart." The works of God are
enhanced by His redemption of man ;
His goodness to men is increased by
the gift of the Sacraments, and of our
Lady as our Mother. "Our conversation
is in heaven," and the saints with God
are more numerous, more powerful, than
of old, for there is the blood of martyrs
to plead for us and with us ; and though
the perfections of God are unchanged and
unchangeable — for with God, the Father of
lights, there is no change or shadow of an
alteration — still in the bright light of the
Incarnation these perfections stand out
more clearly, attract more sweetly, and

Words on Prayer 183

are imaged for our contemplation with
greater splendour.

If David, then, prayed u with his whole
heart," surely Christians have more ample
reason for doing so. Throughout his
psalms there is a joyous, enthusiastic
ring, while in our prayers there is often
no such strain, but all seems an effort,
without sweetness, because we approach
this holy exercise without delight.

" Come, let us praise the Lord with joy ;
let us joyfully sing to God our Saviour ;
let us come before His presence with
thanksgiving, arid make a joyful noise to
Him with psalms, for He is the Lord our
God, and we are the people of His pasture
and the sheep of His hand." " O my
spirit, O my heart, we have a great work
to do ; there is none more important,
none more sublime ; we have to approach
the throne of God, to praise His majesty,
to render thanks for His mercy, to ask
pardon for sins many and grave, to bring
favours upon ourselves and upon others.
We have to be the mouthpiece of the

184 Auxilium Infirmorum

Church of God, and our prayer is to
swell the chorus of praise that angels and
saints are offering by night and by day in
heaven above. We are not alone ; our
Lady, St. Joseph, and all the saints are
with us. Wherefore leave behind all
thoughts, all distractions of the world,
and offer your sacrifice of praise so accept
able to God. Hold long and sweet con
verse with your heavenly Father, and
apply yourself to that task with attention,
with devotion, with joy, and with relish,
giving glory to God with a good heart
and sanctifying your tithes with joy."

XXXV

Holding Fast

WE are told in Holy Scripture that God
is a jealous God. He looks upon us as
the work of His hands, as creatures who
owe all they have and are to their Creator,
and therefore He claims us as His own,

Holding Fast 185

and denies emphatically the right of any
other to our love and service. He asks
as a right for every particle of our time
and strength, for our whole heart, for our
whole mind, for our whole lives, till the
hour of death — God wants it all, for He is
a jealous God.

Hence we find strong things said of the
need of perseverance. Not those who
begin well, but those who continue well
to the end, are acceptable in the sight of
God. " Abide in My love," says our
Lord, for u no man putting his hand to
the plough and looking back is fit for the
kingdom of God. Remember Lot's wife.
If you continue in My word you shall be
My disciples indeed, for he that shall
persevere to the end, he shall be saved."
And St. Paul's Epistles are full of burning
exhortation on this point. u My beloved
brethren," he says, " be ye stedfast and
immovable, not weary in well - doing,
but persevere under chastisement, being
confident of this very thing, that He
who hath begun a good work in you,

i86 Auxilium Infirmorum

will perfect it unto the day of Christ
Jesus."

Let us take first the case of a soul
that does not persevere. For a time,
perhaps for some years, all went well ;
prayer fed that soul and the Sacraments
were regularly and fervently frequented ;
it loved God, and gave promise of doing
good. Life was passing away, and as
each day brought it nearer to eternity,
it seemed to grow in wisdom, to in
crease in merit, to love God more and
more. Those years were an education to
that soul. It was learning all the time,
more and more fully, the claims of God,
the end of man, the malice of sin, the
value of life, the bliss of heaven.

But then came a change ! We know
what this means. A boy, for example,
who pleases us by his fresh manners, his
brightness, his readiness to oblige, sud
denly becomes independent and forward,
a little rude in speech, thinking himself a
man before he is one, and we say of him,
u He is changed." So is it with the soul

Holding Fast 187

we are considering. One day a tempta
tion assails it, or some langour steals over
it, and there is want of prompt resist
ance ; the will is weak, and some duty is
neglected, some sin committed that leaves
its mark, and the change, so slight at first,
increases fast ; prayers are laid aside, the
Sacraments are approached at irregular
intervals, exhortations and warnings are no
longer heeded, and the last state of that
man is worse than the first. He began to
build but did not finish, he grew weary
in well-doing, and now walks no more
with our Lord.

Let us notice that in this history
there are just the elements peculiarly
distasteful to our Lord. It is a selling
of one's birthright, an unwillingness to
brace ourselves for an effort, a want
of confidence in the help from above,
a neglect of grace, a squandering of
accumulated strength, and, above all,
a rejection of light. u Father, forgive
them," our Lord prayed, " for they know
not what they do"; but such souls do

i88 Auxilium Infirmorum

know what they do, and our Lord has
something against them, for they have
fallen from their first fervour.

Call to mind the history of King Solomon.
Who was ever so variously gifted, so richly
endowed, so laden with blessings as he ?
The gift of wisdom, and riches and glory,
were lavished upon him by God. He
built and dedicated a temple most
glorious. u He is a saint," as Cardinal
Newman says, u ready made ; he is in his
youth what others are in their age ; he is
fit for heaven ere others begin their way
heavenward. Why should he delay ?
why tarry the wheels of his chariot ?
why does he remain longer on earth ?
Alas ! he remains on earth to show us
that there might be one thing lacking
amidst the multitude of graces ; to show
that though there be in a man all faith,
all hope, all love, all wisdom, though there
be an exuberance of merits, it is all but a
vanity if one gift be wanting — the gift of
perseverance. He was in his youth what
others hardly are in age ; well were it

Holding Fast 189

had he been in his end what the feeblest
of God's servants is in his beginning.
For Solomon retained not his comeliness,
but withered in his place." And how
many children of the Church, with lights
and encouragements, with help and
protection from on high, turn back
within sight of home, no longer run
in the race so as to obtain the prize,
and lose the things which they have
wrought !

Let us next contrast with this the history
of a soul that perseveres. Both receive a
fair start, but the latter, when difficulties
and temptations come, when dryness in
spiritual exercises overtakes it, and when
the world and its false pleasures begin
to allure, is then generous, stedfast, loyal
and true, " not as children tossed to and
fro, not led aside by the error of the
unwise, not like the fool, changeable as
the moon." Such souls remember then
the strength which God has given them,
the kindness lavished upon them, and,
bearing in mind that they are soldiers,

190 Auxilium Infirmorum

go forth against the foe ; they advance
and abound in the work of the Lord,
they hold fast that which they have, that
no other bear away their crown, and they
conquer, faithful until death, and they
receive the crown of life.

In all this there is precisely what our
Lord loves. There is trust in Him to
give us strength, there is a holy readiness
to try, there is a generous self-sacrifice
which does not flinch from pain, there
is a noble pride at bearing the name of
Christian, and a determination to walk
worthy of that high vocation.

Let us pray often for this crowning
grace of perseverance, and let us under
stand that the only way to avoid falling
back is to press forward. We must dread
all occasions of sin, and acquire a habit
of shrinking from the beginnings of
temptation. Never speak lightly of
sacred things — try to live in the Presence
of God. Interest our Lady in your
success, pray to her earnestly for it ;
and if Mary intercedes for you, the day

Some Prayers 191

of your summons home will find you
watching and ready.

XXXVI
Some Prayers

(i) MORNING OFFERING

O MY God, the sun that speaks to us of
Thy light and strength, has risen to herald
in another day of my life. My God, I hasten
to adore Thee, to kneel for Thy blessing,
to prostrate myself before Thee as Thy
creature and Thy child, to thank Thee for
the rest of the night now past, to offer
myself to Thee, body and soul, during this
day. Thou art my first beginning and my
last end : to Thee I owe all things, and
without Thee I can do nothing. Thou
art my Creator and my Master, and for
Thee alone I wish to live, for Thou hast
a right to every moment of my time, and,
in Thy goodness, Thou deignest to accept

192 Auxilium Infirmorum

whatever I do. My God, to Thee I give
it all, without reserve, and will try to spend
to-day as though it were to be my last on
earth. May every duty be begun in Thy
Name, carried through with Thy gracious
help, performed so as to give Thee glory,
completed with Thy blessing. Rouse me
from all sloth, banish far from me all dis
couragement, and prompt me often, lest
I waste the time that belongs wholly to
Thee. Let me every moment bear in
mind that Thou, my God, dost see me,
so that living in Thy sacred presence, I
may do all that my hand findeth to do in
such a way as to show my sense of grati
tude and fidelity to Thee, my Father,
from whom every best and perfect gift
descends. Amen.

(ii) EVENING

Stay with me, Lord, for the day is now
far spent, and the night is at hand when
no man can work. To Thee I would give
an account of my stewardship for to-day,

Some Prayers 193

while into Thy hands I commend my spirit.
Accept, O Lord, the work and words of
this day, pardon their many blemishes,
deal mercifully with Thy servant, and as
I close my eyes and ears to sights and
sounds of earth, let me know that I am at
peace with Thee, ready to face Thee even
as my Judge, while I acknowledge Thee
as my Saviour. Give me Thy blessing,
and may Thy angels have me in their
keeping during the watches of the night.
With a grateful heart, I acknowledge the
many favours received from Thy hands
to-day, and if I be spared for yet further
labours in Thy vineyard, may Thy loving
goodness still feed and support my weak
ness. The day is finished, and I can
work no more. My Father, into Thy
hands I commend my spirit : Lord Jesus,
receive my soul. Amen.

(iii) BEFORE COMMUNION

My Jesus, when Thou didst come on
earth to draw all men to Thyself, and to

194 Auxilium Infirmorum

rescue souls from the power of sin, Thou
didst do all things well and in a manner
worthy of a king. It was not enough to
speak to us, to live with us, to share our
lot, to open heaven to us, and to die that
we might one day be with Thee for
ever. No, Thy delights are to be with
the children of men, all days, to the end,
and only the closest possible union with
them will satisfy the hunger of Thy heart
for the love of sinners. And so, on Thy
last night on earth, Thou didst institute
this adorable banquet of love and strength,
of light and union, of courage and peace,
that we might never be separated from
Thee, but might ever possess a food, in
the strength of which to walk even to the
mount of God.

Yes, dear Jesus, it was on the night
in which Thou wast betrayed, and didst
begin Thy Sacred Passion, that this
divine food was first given to us by
Thee. Let me never forget this, that
whenever I receive Thee in Holy Com
munion, I may remember it is a memorial

Some Prayers 195

of Thy pains for me, and of my duty to
infuse into every hour of my life Thy
spirit of self-denial, and never to forget
all that Thou hast suffered for me.

Another day of sweet Communion has
now dawned for me, and soon I am going
to receive Thee. I believe that Thou
dwellest in this sacrament of love for my
comfort and support ; I love Thee, and am
grateful to Thee for this gift, so surpassing
hope or thought ; I hope from my Com
munion to receive much light and strength,
and all the graces I need so much, to serve
Thee better. I long for the moment when
I shall possess Thee within me ; come,
Lord Jesus, and have compassion on my
weakness. I detest my sins, and have
made some effort to prepare my soul to
welcome Thee ; but, dear Master, I am
not worthy, I am not worthy, I am very
unworthy of this high privilege, and only
Thy kind words, a Come unto Me all ye
that labour and are heavy laden," make
me bold enough to draw near to receive
Thee.

196 Auxilium Infirmorum

O Mary, my Mother, dear angel, my
guardian, St. Joseph, my protector, and
all angels and saints of God, pray for me
at this time, that my Communion may be
one after God's own heart, for my own
greater good, for the good of all souls
redeemed by the Precious Blood. And
now accompany me, as I receive my
Lord and so great a Lord, whom heaven
and earth cannot contain, into my heart,
for He has said : " Unless you eat the
flesh of the Son of man and drink His
blood, you shall have no life in you."
Amen.

(iv) AFTER COMMUNION

Behold, O Lord, I have Thee now who
hast all things ; I possess Thee who pos-
sessest all things ! From Thy throne in
heaven, Thou hast come all the way into
my poor heart, and I can now say : " My
Beloved to mer and I to Him." Whence
is this to me, that my Lord should come
to me, who am so unworthy of His

Some Prayers 197

regard ? With all my heart I adore
Thee, dear Jesus, dwelling now within
me ; I thank Thee for thus giving me
Thyself ; I welcome Thee with joy and
love ; I offer Thee my poor gifts, and bid
Thee accept my whole self to be Thine,
from henceforth and for ever. What shall
I render to the Lord for all that He hath
rendered unto me ? What less can I give
Thee, dear Lord, than the whole love
of my heart, for by this gracious visit
Thou dost tell me that for this it is
Thou cravest ?

And what is it that has made Thee
thus give Thyself to me ? what does the
possession of a gift so great impress upon
me ? It tells me that Thou lovest me, and
art ready to help me along my way. Yes,
but more than this. That which is holy
Thou dost not give to dogs, neither dost
Thou cast pearls before swine. By this
divine food Thou dost tell me that I
possess an immortal soul, made to Thine
image, redeemed by Thy Blood, and des
tined one day to see Thee face to face for

198 Auxilium Infirmorum

ever more. This is the true reason of a
food so strong, of a visit so intimate, of
a union so close and tender.

Thy presence within me, Jesus, speaks to
me of the value of my soul, of the presence
of enemies who would disfigure and destroy
it, of the need of loyal work and keen
vigilance to keep it for Thee. Yes, in the
strength of this food I will walk in the
way of Thy commandments, I will go
forth, and fight the foe, and strike many
a blow for Thee. Increase my courage
that I never lose heart, or do the works of
Him that sent me languidly ; increase my
love that I may appreciate Thy infinite
loving-kindness to me, and make Thee a
warm return of love ; increase my union
with Thee, that I may ever choose the
better part, and take Thee, and Thee
alone, as my portion.

Mary, my Mother, and all ye angels and
saints of God, unite with me in praising
and giving thanks to my Lord for all that
He hath rendered unto me this day.

Some Prayers 199

(v) SHORTER MORNING OFFERING

My Jesus, my best Friend, I welcome
Thee to-day ; give me Thy blessing ; keep
me close to Thee all day, and give me
every grace I shall need. Help me to be
very patient and resigned ; give me a
store of holy joy and peace. Let me
value every thorn Thou givest me from
Thy sacred crown. I offer Thee my
whole day, with all my pain and all my
prayers. Dear Lord, I cannot pray as I
would ; I have not strength to pray much ;
accept, then, my sacrifice, which, relying
on Thy goodness, I venture to offer,
for it is all I can give. Come into my
heart by a spiritual communion, and
make me wholly Thine.

" O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine,
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment
Thine."

Mary, my Mother, bless me to-day and
keep me as thy child.

200 Auxilium Infirmorum

My angel guardian, protect me, and
check me.

St. Joseph, pray for me to-day.

O Jesus, through the most pure heart of
Mary, I offer Thee the prayers, work, and
sufferings of this day, for all the inten
tions of Thy divine heart in the holy
Mass. Amen.

(vi) EVENING

Into Thy hands, dear Lord, I commend
myself to night. Another day is over, and
Thou hast helped me through it. Pardon
whatever faults there may have been, and
accept my gratitude for all Thy favours.
Give me sleep, dear Lord, to-night, that I
may wake refreshed to serve Thee more.

Mary, my Mother, close my eyes, and
give me thy blessing.

My angel guardian, spread thy wings
around me, and protect me to-night.

St. Joseph, pray for me.

O holy souls in Purgatory, for your
benefit I now say this prayer : u Sweet

heart of Mary, be my salvation." (300
days.) Pray for me in return to-night.

Father, into Thy hands I commend
my spirit. Lord Jesus, receive my soul.
Amen.

(vii) DURING CONVALESCENCE
(a) Morning

O my God, I offer Thee this day, with
all that it may bring. In every hour pro
tect and help me : in every hour teach
me to accept all that shall befall me, and
to embrace all as a gift from Thee, to be
used for Thy glory and for my own good.
Give me wisdom to know always how to
act ; give me prudence ever to choose
the better part ; give me much patience,
to control all restlessness, to maintain my
peace and joy, to be tender and grateful
to all around me.

Mary, my Mother, be near to me to-day,
for I need thee. Lead me to thy Son.
Amen.

15

2oo Auxilium Infirmorum

(6) Evening

O my God, another day is over, and
Thou hast been very good to me. Accept
my gratitude for Thy loving care of me,
and pardon every sin and imperfection
Thou seest in my conduct to-day. Accept
the love of my heart, and my desire to
serve Thee again to-morrow. Give me
now Thy blessing. Father, into Thy
hands I commend my spirit. Lord Jesus,
receive my soul.

Mary, my Mother, my angel guardian,
all ye angels and saints of God, protect
me while I sleep. Amen.

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lAuxi 1 ium inf irmorum
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